Her of the Wood

by Veronica Watts

  "Enough." The voice is loud and solid. She isn't shouting. She isn't condemning. She doesn't have to. The only flash of anger Euodia sees is when Lorna looks at her son. Euodia watches Broderick's expression twist with resentment. His moment is over.

  She turns back to the crowd. "Okay, you kick out the newcomers? What about the sick?" She calls on the individual families of the sick. "If we're trying to keep the contagion from spreading, they should be sent away. Isn't that what I'm hearing?" The entire crowd looks ashamed. They look to the ground and avoid looking at anyone around them who may have personally witnessed their behavior. Lorna waits, and the crowd are like children chastised by a parent. Her next words are kinder. "I know you're scared. We all are, but we have to find a better solution."

  Euodia is speaking before she realizes it. "There's medicine." She looks up to see everyone staring at her. She is the focal point now. She keeps her attention on Lorna. Her eyes are gentle and inviting. "If this is what we think it is, then there is medicine in Dracon." She pauses. She knows what she has to do with the information, but she doesn't want to. "I'll go back and see if I can take some."

  Ailie moves through the crowd towards her. "I'll go with you." She says it quietly, but people get the gist even if they don't hear the words. Rayne steps forward as well. He says nothing, but every person watching understands. The next to speak is Lorna. "Very well. Let's talk further." She walks back towards her cabin with Euodia, Ailie, and Rayne in tow. Broderick slinks behind.

  TWENTY-TWO

  Ailie is amazed by how quickly the cabin fills up. There are several of the newcomers, a group of Broderick's friends, and a few others. Euodia does not want to speak. She has no idea how to get into the city. She doesn't even know where the medicine is, but she's in luck. Lorna stands. "We all understand the idea of what needs to happen, and the floor is open to anyone who wishes to speak, but," she turns subtly but noticeably towards Broderick, "most of this will hinge on our new friends who know the city. Please share kindness and support."

  One of the women most frequently with Lorna speaks up. "I believe the first thing we need to do is decide who will be going on this trip." At least ten voices answer simultaneously. "Euodia, Ailie, and Rayne, are you sure about going?"

  Rayne nods as if he has no concerns at all, and Ailie's voice is confident, and even a little excited. "Yes."

  Then they're all looking to Euodia. She's bouncing her leg under the table, but when she stops, she feels like she might fall off the side of the bench. Her entire body feels unsteady until she speaks. "I want to do what's needed." She looks to Lorna, and she can tell from the woman's gaze that she understands. Euodia wonders how much of her position is obligation. "But there's a problem." There are a dozen or more problems that they're all aware of, so they wait to see what Euodia can present that they may not have thought of yet. "I know the medicine exists, but I don't know where it's kept."

  The entire group is silent. Even Lorna has a look of shock, and Euodia feels like she might as well have said no at this point. She's ruined the plan either way. Then out of nowhere, Vaness leans across the table. She looks much more confident than Euodia feels. "I know where it is." Everyone turns towards her. Vaness's confidence starts to waver as everyone stares at her. "I used to work for a doctor."

  "Where is it?" Euodia doesn't mean to sound so aggressive, but she can't help it.

  "In the tower."

  Euodia doesn't answer, just sits in disbelief and waits for Vaness to explain.

  Ailie turns to Euodia. "Isn't that where you worked?"

  "Yeah." She can feel herself unraveling at the thought of going back there. "I knew there were floors used for storage, but I never knew any of it was medical."

  Norten is the next to speak, and while the entire room can hear, it's obvious whom he's speaking to. "Well, I'm going with you then. I don't want you going back into that place by yourself."

  "You should stay here. You're not as strong as the others. And how is this alone?" She motions around the table as she speaks.

  It's obvious that he feels a little embarrassed. He looks around. Everyone here knows how sick he was when they first came to the community and that he may be weakened for the rest of his life. "I'll make it work. I want to watch out for you."

  There's quiet for just a minute before Ilford steps in. "What's wrong with him wanting to help you, Vaness? We'll all watch out for him."

  Hana and Auston respond together, but Hana's voice is louder. "I hope that doesn't mean you think you're going."

  He looks genuinely surprised. "Of course I'm going."

  Now it's Auston who speaks loudest. "You've never even been on a scouting trip, Il. What makes you think you're ready for this?"

  Broderick's voice cuts the argument short. "We need as many hands as we can get." The room goes quiet. Everyone is thinking about the conviction with which Broderick led the crowd. Most of them look at him in anger. Some of the quieter people in the room look at him with regret. The friends who stood near him earlier are nowhere to be seen. He lowers his head before speaking again. "I spoke out of fear, and I want to apologize, to everyone. I'm..." He bites his lip and looks down before continuing, "I hope that you'll allow me to assist in this mission to help us move forward."

  No one speaks. He looks contrite now, but it's the first time he has. Euodia thinks he looks like that because people are watching. She doesn't trust it for a minute, and when she reaches over to take Ailie's hand, she can feel her vibrating with rage, but neither of them knows how to say something without accusation, without seeming emotional and unreasonable.

  "Why should we trust you?" Rayne's voice is calm, smooth. He is not challenging, but genuinely asking.

  Broderick takes a breath. It looks as if he's putting his words together, taking a moment to compose himself, but he's looking for an answer. Lorna speaks up before he finds one. "Because we trust you." Like Rayne, her tone is relaxed. "We all have to work together, trust each other, to move forward."

  Lorna pats Broderick's hand, and Ailie can tell that that is the end of it. Broderick is going with them, and there's nothing to be done about it. Lorna may be a wise leader, but she is also a mother.

  "We have our group then." She names them as she goes around the table. "Hana, Auston, Ilford." Hana and Auston do not look pleased, and Ilford looks like he's going to bolt as soon as they are released. "Ailie, Euodia, Vaness, Norten. Rayne and Broderick." Each nods respectfully. "Let's take a short break to get our thoughts in order, and if we can get a plan out by the end of today, you can go tomorrow."

  Euodia and Ailie decide to take a quick walk to shake their nerves out. They're quiet for a while before Ailie says anything. "How are you feeling?"

  "Not as excited as you." Euodia has a way of turning the question back out.

  Ailie blushes. "I know I shouldn't be. These are horrible circumstances, but it's the city. It's the only technologically advanced human development left in traveling distance, and I've always wanted to see it." She sounds like a child pining after a sweet.

  "Just not like this." Euodia isn't angry. Her tone is consoling, understanding, even supportive.

  "So, we've established that I am feeling guilty anticipation. What about you?" There's no answer. "You hated that place enough to risk death, and then there's Orchid..." Euodia stops in her tracks and looks at Ailie as if she's just dropped a bomb. She feels air move across her lips and realizes that her mouth is hanging open. She had completely forgotten about Orchid.

  TWENTY-THREE

  Euodia regains her composure quickly.

  "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make it more painful," Ailie says.

  "No, you're right. She's there somewhere." She drops Ailie's hand and turns to continue walking, her thoughts returning to the business at hand. "But the truth is, if we're in worker uniforms, she won't notice us."

  Ailie's speaks quietly, as if she's trying to hold her words in. "She noticed you before."

  Euodia's lost i
n thought when they pass the dining hall. Ailie turns towards it. Her voice is still quiet. "We should probably tell them we'll need food for the trip."

  She turns to walk away, but Euodia catches her hand again and when she turns, kisses her. They stay that way for a moment, holding hands and staring into each other's eyes. "I love you," Euodia says. Her emphasis is on the last word.

  "Thank you." It's one thing to know it and another entirely to hear it.

  They walk into the kitchen instead of the dining hall, and the first thing they see is Thackery drop a loaf of hot, steaming bread. He shakes his hand in the air, trying to cool it down. Euodia takes a plate form the counter and rolls the bread onto it while Ailie takes a look at his hand. "That's not too bad. It'll heal up fast." He looks up into her eyes, and his bottom jaw trembles.

  Euodia rushes them out of the back door and onto a bench. "Are you okay?" He looks to the far side of the walkway, to the last building there. "Of course." She can't believe she didn't think to ask about Henley as soon as they walked in. "How is she?"

  "I don't really know. We leave food outside for them. We're using large leaves so that we're not contaminating plates others could use. We reuse the same cups for them, and we don't bring those into the kitchen. We wash them outside. Callie won't let anyone in because she doesn't want anyone else to get sick, and I understand, and I'm trying to keep busy, but I don't know how long I can go without seeing her. I keep thinking about just going in, just letting myself get sick so I can be with her. I know that's crazy..."

  Ailie's hand on his shoulder cuts him off. "No, it's not." Ailie sits on the bench with her arm around Thackery, and he turns to her and cries. Her eyes meet Euodia's as she hugs him, and Euodia takes a deep breath. This is too much for her. When Thackery seems to recover a bit, she alters the subject. "How is Callie?"

  "I saw her for a minute yesterday. She seems to be fine, but she said that Jobe is bad." They all know what that means. 'Bad' means death is near. Bad means the others following in his wake, and Euodia watches as Thackery tries to push that thought away.

  Euodia kneels down in front of the bench. "We're going back to Dracon." He looks at her like she's crazy. "We're going to get the medicine." Light springs back to his eyes, and he smiles, just a little. Normally, he would be the realist pointing out all the ways things could go wrong, all the reasons it might not work, but right now there is only hope in his eyes.

  Ailie breaks the quiet. "We have to get back to Lorna's to work on plans. Will you be okay?"

  He wipes his eyes and rubs his face. "Yeah, yeah, you go." Euodia thinks that even if he weren't okay, he wouldn't ask them to stay, not now he knows what they're working on. He stays on the bench as they walk away, and Euodia has to force herself not to look back at him.

  They're the last ones to get back to the table. Everyone going to the city is assembled. "I wish we had a faster way for you to get there." They all know they'll be walking. There are no other means of travel out here.

  "There were no windows in the truck that brought us here. We couldn't see the way, so who's leading this expedition?" Norten is digging right in.

  Ilford speaks up, while Hana and Auston slump in their chairs, resigned to the fact that he is coming along. "Auston does. He and my dad went back once to see about reaching my grandmother." He stops, but it's obvious there's more. He looks to Auston, and everyone else follows suit, waiting for confirmation. Auston nods reluctantly. He must not have been planning on sharing this information. Ilford seems more hesitant when he does continue. "But they couldn't find a way in."

  "That's because you entered on the wrong side." Rayne's as calm as always. He speaks confidently. "The west side of the city, closest to here is all gates and codes and scanners because that's the gate people see, and they want it to be intimidating, but who leaves the city on a regular basis?"

  He looks to those of them from Dracon, and then the others. When no one answers, he pushes forward. "Where is the food grown?" Eyes around the table start to light up, but there are still a few who know nothing about the city. Those are the ones he speaks to now that everyone else is on board. "The workers who grow food go in and out of the city every day, and none of the guards want to deal with all of those locks and alarms every day. They'd lose their effect. It's why the workers who work the fields are kept separate, so they can't tell anyone about the east gate. We know what time to be expected, and there's only one guard."

  Ailie looks confused.

  "You have a question?"

  "Not about this."

  Now Rayne gives her the questioning look.

  "If the security for those workers is so lax, why don't they just leave?" She trips through the question. She doesn't want to offend him, but she really doesn't understand.

  He smiles at her, like he would a child. "We're not all as brave as your girl."

  Ailie turns to Euodia, and Euodia thinks maybe now she understands a little more what it meant for her to leave. "Most people don't believe the stories about places like this. I didn't, not until I woke up to see you two standing over me in the woods."

  "Working was all we knew," Norten says. "When you're told that people who are left outside of Dracon die, you believe it, especially when you never see any of them come back. When you don't have a way to fix things, you follow the status quo. It seems ridiculous now, but it was what it was, and we didn't think there was anything we could do about it."

  Ailie has tears in her eyes, and everyone gives Norten's words a moment's thought.

  "So if I can get us there," Auston says, breaking the silence, "how do we get in the gate?"

  Euodia notices the 'if' and thinks a few of the others do, too, but no one mentions it.

  Rayne says it as if it's obvious. "We take a truck."

  "And what about the workers?" It's the first thing Broderick's said.

  "We could tie them up?" Ilford says it like a question. He wants so badly to be helpful.

  Rayne's response is immediate and definite. "Absolutely not. I know these people, and they are not the problem." He pauses for response but receives no challenge. "We leave someone with them. There's nine of us, and the truck seats eight."

  Euodia sees an opportunity. "I think Broderick should stay." Every eye is questioning, so she comes up with reasons quickly. "They don't know him, so they'll take the situation seriously, and he's physically capable of overpowering anyone who tries to get back to the gate."

  "I'll stay." Rayne is talking to the group, but he is looking at Broderick. He clearly doesn't trust him any more than Euodia does, and he has no desire to leave him alone with innocent workers.

  "You can't." Vaness shoots back. "Sometimes the guards at those entrances do scan, and your ID might still be in the system. We need you." He falls silent in begrudging agreement.

  Hana is quiet but assertive, and she doesn't look at Ilford as she talks. "I think Ilford should stay for the same reasons as Broderick." He also has kindness on his side. No one would be uncomfortable leaving him in charge of people.

  Lorna has been watching, but she steps back in now. This could break into a fight and stop the whole process. "I think that there will be time to discuss who will fill which roles more specifically on the walk there. For now, let's move forward."

  Ilford looks at Hana with betrayal. He, like Ailie, wants to see the city, but they both know that by planting this idea, she has as good as forced him into it. No one has argued, which means they agree. He is outnumbered.

  Rayne picks back up. "Once we get into the city, we'll park the truck in the lot and lock up for the night, nothing suspicious. Then my masterminding is done. Who takes over from there?"

  No one answers right away. A few people look to Vaness, but it's Euodia who speaks. "We'll take the tunnels from the edges into mid-city. We'll have to find somewhere for several of you to wait while Vaness and I see about sneaking you uniforms." Vaness meets her eyes. She seems to be dreading this just as much as Euodia, but they were the onl
y ones wearing city center worker uniforms when they got to Solace. "That part shouldn't be hard, and once we have the uniforms, just walk around like you don't exist." She can hear her cynicism turning into anger. She takes a deep breath.

  "The only other people you should see will be other workers since we won't be going on any residential or public floors. They won't bother you, but you still have to be careful. Look at the ground as much as you can. Don't make eye contact, even with each other, and don't talk." Ailie takes Euodia's hand. She can feel pity there but also compassion and comfort. "Too many of us together may be suspicious, but our only defense is in our numbers."

  Those who have lived in the city all have the same thoughts. It's a false sense of security. There's eight of them versus the many more guards who are armed. "We'll need to stay close enough together to be aware of each other, to get on the same elevators, to see when the person in front of us makes a turn off, but it can't be obvious that we're a group. You'll know the guards because they wear gear. Stay away from them, even if it means leaving the group."

  Euodia makes eye contact with Vaness, who picks up the instructional dialogue. "The storage is on the second floor. The hallways there aren't used often, so the group can wait there while I go in for the medicine. Once we have it, we'll need to find somewhere in the tunnels to stay until morning. When it's time, we'll change clothes and head back to the truck. When we're out, we'll return it to the workers and leave with no one the wiser about what we took."