EVOLVED

by Jessica Gomez

  Since I’m the only one from our returning party that’s up, I decide to pack instead. There’s no way in hell I’ll be able to go back to bed, so the best thing is to get everything ready for our journey.

  We’ve been home barely a day, not enough time to organize our findings, but I head to the storage tunnel anyway. Mason and I loaded the U-Haul and the rig with our findings. Remembering where we put things will be easier for me, since I placed them in their containers. We came across warmer clothes and coats. Lucky for us, our OCD vacuum sealing friends were also avid hunters. Most of their clothes are centered around being out in the elements for long periods of time. The fact that they’re camo is a bonus too.

  I grab a pair of boots. Mine are worn down after the months of searching we’ve done. These are a half a size too big, but extra layers of socks will make up the difference. I’ve organized half the room by the time James and Azami find me.

  “Hey, bro, what’re you doing?” James asks, standing behind me, holding Azami’s hand.

  She waves at me. “Hi, Daddy!” She releases James and runs to jump on my back.

  I’m crouched down, sorting through some of the clothing when she lands on me. I chuckle. “Hey, Pumpkin. I’m keeping myself busy.”

  James tilts his head, knowing I’m giving her the G-rated version. “You didn’t sleep long. We just finished with the garden and were heading to clean up when we heard someone in here. Thought we’d check out some of the things you all found.” He looks around the storage room that’s packed to brim with new supplies. It’s going to take a while to get through all this and have it organized.

  “I’ve got something for you, Az.” I reach over and grab the new color pencils, coloring books, and reading books I found. “Look at these.” I hold the chapter books out to her first. We found titles that I never thought I’d see again. The Secret Garden, Peter Pan, and Charlotte’s Web.

  Her eyes light up, blue crystals shining back at me. “I love them.” She holds the first book to her chest, then pulls it back to look at the picture on the front again. “Daddy, what does that little girl have? What are those?” She points to the animals surrounding Charlotte.

  My heart thumps, understanding an entirely different world surrounds us. One where simple things like a pig, a goose, and a lamb are unrecognizable to this world’s youth. “Those are animals, Pumpkin. This one’s a pig, his name is Wilbur in the book. He’s this little girl’s friend. The other two are a lamb and goose.” I chuckle and point to the pig. “You know what kind of noises these animals make? The pig says, Oink! Oink!” I snort through my nose, making Azami and James both laugh with my attempt.

  “What does this one do?” She points to the other animals on the cover.

  “Well, this one is a lamb. He says Baa!” The noise causes Az to laugh again.

  “What his name?”

  “You know, I don’t remember. We’ll have to read it to find out.” This response makes her happy.

  She nods excitedly. “Yes!” She jumps, but then points at the next animal. “And dis one?”

  “That’s a goose. She says, Honk!” Azami squeals when I poke her in the tummy. I start honking several times while tickling her. She’s in a ball of laughter, sitting on my lap. When she finishes, I pull the book up and show her the one thing that she missed. “See this?” I point to Charlotte, dangling down from her web. “That’s Charlotte. She’s a magic spider who spins pretty messages in her spiderweb.”

  “A spider?” she asks cautiously. “I don’t like spiders, Daddy.” She shivers.

  James and I both chuckle. We both know Lillie hates spiders, and that this is something that’s rubbed off from her over the years. “Not all spiders are bad. They look scary, but most of them don’t like us much either. If you ever see one, you can look, but don’t touch, okay? Not unless you talk to Uncle James or me first.”

  She shakes her head. “I don’t ever want to touch one, Daddy. Don’t wowy.” She pats my cheek softly, causing me to laugh again.

  “Good. Now, look what else I got here.” I hold out her color pencils and coloring books. “New coloring stuff.” James had given her some coloring items a while ago, but those were wearing down to nubs, and the books have been colored to completion.

  She hugs these items to her chest too. “Thank you, Daddy. I love them.” She repeats her earlier words and slides off my lap. “Can I color now?” She’s holding one of the pencils up, as if she’s going to start coloring the air.

  “You sure can. I’m going to go through more of this stuff. You can color while I do that, does that sound okay?”

  She nods again and sets down in a good spot to color.

  “You’ve kept her busy for hours now.” James laughs. “You want some help? I’m done with the garden for the day.”

  My dream floods me again, reminding me why I’m going through this stuff to begin with. “That’d be great. Let’s start over here.” I pick the spot farthest away from Azami so I can relay my dream to him. “Pumpkin, we’ll be right around this big pile, okay? We’re not going anywhere.”

  “Okay!” she yells out, not caring where we’re going. She’s too absorbed in her new books. I remind myself to read her Charlotte’s Web tonight before bedtime.

  Once I’ve got James out of earshot, he turns on me. “All right. What the hell is going on?” he asks.

  A small smile tugs at the corner of my lips. “I had another dream with Lil.” The one sentence keeps him quiet until I finish recapping the entire dream.

  He looks deep in concentration before he responds. “The premonition I had when we find her was by a lake with flowers. But we weren’t next to the lake, we were higher up, above it. On the mountainside, maybe. We were also surrounded by trees most of the time. It’s hard to tell, since I only had flashes of our surroundings. I wish I could’ve gotten a better look.”

  I nod. “We have more information than we should. If it weren’t for you and Lil’s dreaming abilities, we’d have no idea where to start looking. We got lucky because there’s only one lake that’s close to us. It’s must be the one they drug her to.” If it’s not, I don’t know what we’ll do.

  ~~~~~

  We spend the rest of the evening organizing the storage room. By the time we’re done, we have everything in its proper place. Clothing and blankets are separated out by size and weather requirements. I placed the crib I took against the wall. I didn’t want to set it up until I got them home. This way, I can surprise Lillie. The image of her excitement draws a smile to my face.

  “What’re you cheesing for?” James asks.

  “I’m excited to get the crib set up for Lil. She’s not going to expect it.” I check on Azami one last time. She’s curled up on one of the blankets I gave her to play on, and fast asleep. It took us longer than I thought to finish organizing the supplies. I let her sleep, but it’s too late for a long nap. “Az,” I call her until she wakes up. “Time to wake up, sleepyhead. You hungry?”

  She nods her head and sits up, gathering her new books to her chest.

  “Let’s go get some food, then a bath, and then I’m going to read you this new book we got.” Picking her up in my arms, her smile stretches across her face.

  She begins patting my back softly, signaling that she’s still tired. “Okay,” she whispers to me, as we begin to head toward the kitchen.

  “You coming to dinner with us?” I ask James.

  “Yeah. Then I’m hitting the hay. I’m exhausted.”

  “Thanks for the help today. That would’ve taken me forever without your help.”

  As we turn the corner into the kitchen, I see that Mason and Luke are awake from their day long sleep. James and I grab our food before heading in their direction. I juggle the two plates and Azami carefully as I set them down. Azami scoots up to the table and wipes her hair out of her face.

  Dinner smells good. Steak, potatoes, and spinach adorn our plates. There may be times when we struggle with our protein, but we do pretty
good for the most part. Azami finishes her greens first, and hums while she eats. Keeping information from her is becoming harder to do. I’m becoming a ninja in my own right, discovering new ways to block her from my thoughts, or hearing the conversations that happen around her. People tend to forget that just because she’s quiet, doesn’t mean she’s ignorant. She’s at a curious age, and is smarter than your average four-year-old.

  “Daddy, can I be done?” Azami holds her clean plate out to me.

  “Great job, Pumpkin. Are you still hungry?”

  “No.” She pats her tummy. “I’m full.”

  “All right. Take your plate up to the sink and give it a good wash for me. When you’re all done, dry it up and put it away.”

  She rolls her eyes at me. “I know how to do it, Daddy. I’m four now.” She holds up four fingers to prove her point.

  James chuckles under his breath, as I try not to outright laugh. Holding my hand up in surrender, I apologize. “I’m sorry. I forget how big you’re getting.”

  She climbs off the bench and turns back to grab her plate. “It’s otay. I forgive you.” She heads toward the sink and begins washing her plate.

  “Well, now we’re all informed,” Mason chuckles.

  The rest of the table joins in. Azami stays over by the sink to talk with Sarah after washing her dish, giving me ample time to chat with the guys.

  “While she’s gone, I want to go over a couple things. I had another dream with Lil.” This tidbit of news quiets the table and draws all attention to me. I retell the dream word for word and every detail. “She’s definitely by a lake. The closest lake is over forty miles from us, and the weather’s subsided enough to head in that direction. James and I organized the storage room and collected all the supplies that would be useful. I’m aiming to leave the day after tomorrow. Waiting is no longer an option.” I brace myself for their reaction, and then drop the bomb. “Becky’s alive.”

  Silence.

  “What the fuck do you mean she’s alive?” Mason growls. “I thought we voted to mercy her?”

  “Lil said that she’s there in the area with her.” I hesitate to tell them my suspicions. “She wouldn’t tell me, but I get the impression things are intensifying where they’re holding her. She said there’s two smart infected and seven others, warning us to come prepared.” I give Luke and Mason a moment to absorb my dream. “My suspicions are that Dane was already turning when we voted and let her go. I heard the shot, but I also didn’t ask questions. I never actually saw her. Did either of you?” I glance between them.

  “No,” they both reply in unison.

  “We attempted to help bury her, but Dane said he didn’t want us to have to deal with it. She was our friend at one point.” And it’s because of that, that we never talked about who buried her.

  Our assumption was that Dane had taken care of her as we expected. Obviously, we were wrong. Not only are we going up against Jeff and his group, but now Becky’s too. We have a limited number of guns and ammo. Leaving the caves unprotected is not an option.

  “In both James and Lil’s dreams, they saw the four of us. Can I count on you three to come with me? Others are welcome and encouraged to come, but the four of us have to be there.”

  “You don’t have to ask, bro. I already packed this morning.” James slaps my back and sits closer.

  “I’m ready anytime. We’ll go down and get new supplies.” Mason speaks for both he and Luke.

  Luke nods, agreeing without words.

  Mason runs his hands over his face. “This shit is insane.” He breathes out heavily.

  “You got that right,” Luke says.

  “How’s she doing?” Mason asks.

  The expression on his face holds more than friendship, but jealousy has nowhere in this circle. “She’s good. She seems healthy and very pregnant. She also reassured me the baby’s mine. No one’s touched her that way.” A smile creeps up on my lips, then slips moments later. “But she’s not telling me everything. She doesn’t want us to worry, like that’s possible.” I crack my knuckles, irritated with her stubbornness.

  “That’s Lil for you,” James says.

  We all grunt in agreement. Silence surrounds us again, giving us a moment to collect our thoughts, cataloging all the new information and beginning to form a plan. Thanks to these dream snippets, we have more than enough information to start our search, and that’s exactly what I plan to do.

  “Let’s set a plan. We know she’s next to a lake. It’s not concrete, but the direction they were heading in points to Jubilee. The supplies we found are sufficient enough to get us there and back without a problem. We’ll have to leave most of the guns and ammo behind for the caves protection, but I want to make sure we have a good advantage on the infected. It sounds like we’re up against more than ten infected, and some of them are intelligent.”

  “Are we the only ones going, or should we ask for a couple more volunteers?” Luke asks.

  “We may need a couple more, but no more than two.” I glance around the table to make sure my calculations are correct. None of them object, so I continue. “Good. Luke, you take care of recruiting two more people for the trip. Mason, pack the food and ammo we’ll need. James, get a few things together for Lil. She’ll need warm clothes for the trip home.” No one questions the fact that I expect her to come home with us. I’m not sure if I have it in me to return without her. “On top of that, pack your own bags and extra supplies. We’re leaving the day after tomorrow to allow us another day to prepare and recoup from the last trip.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” Mason shoves more food in his mouth.

  “Same. I’m ready,” Luke states, swallowing down a gulp of water.

  “I’m going to call it a night, I didn’t sleep much. Azami was pretty tuckered out before dinner too. Hopefully, she’ll go out without a problem.”

  James chuckles as he pops the last piece of his bread in his mouth. “Good luck with that. You gave her new books, remember? You’re going to have to read at least one.”

  “I can’t wait,” I reply, meaning every word. All my time is swallowed searching for Lillie, and doesn’t leave much time for us throughout the day. I look forward to this part of the evening. I’ve already missed so much of her life, I’m not wasting another moment.

  “Night,” everyone echoes.

  I bring my plate over to the sink, where Az and Sarah are giggling and flicking bubbles at each other. “Thanks for keeping her busy.” I snag the washcloth from Azami and wash my plate before drying it.

  “You’re welcome. Looks like you all had a lot on your mind.” Her words are coded enough for our four-year-old audience.

  “We did. They’ll fill you in if you want, but for now, I’m beat. You ready for bed, Az? We can read one of your new books,” I offer for an easy escape from the bubbles.

  “Yes!” She punches her small fist into the air, as if she’s won a grand prize. “I told you, Uncle James. Daddy will read it to me.” She sticks her tongue out at him, then looks back to me. “He said you wouldn’t read it to me. And I said, yes you would.” She’s now standing with her fist on each hip, reminding me of her mother more each day.

  I chuckle and scoop her up. “Enough. Leave James alone. Let’s go get our baths out of the way.” I begin to walk to our room, Azami hanging over my shoulder.

  “Fine, but I’m not going to like it,” she huffs.

  The entire kitchen erupts, their laughter chasing after us as we exit.

  We settle into our bed and snuggle down after our warm bath. I let Azami play for a while longer than normal to tucker her out, as she spent her entire day on high speed. She’s finally starting to tire as we begin to read Charlotte’s Web. She yawns into her hand and cuddles down with her blanket.

  “Can I have a pig too, Pop?”

  "No, I only distribute pigs to early risers. Fern was up at daylight, trying to rid the world of injustice. As a result, she now has a pig. A small one, to be sure, but neverthe
less a pig. It just shows what can happen if a person gets out of bed promptly."

  I glance down at Azami’s heavy breathing, only pages into the book. Her lashes lay on her cheeks and her mouth his hanging partway open.

  I close the book, ready to close my eyes for the night, when she whispers, “Can I get a pig if I get up early?”

  Her question almost has me laughing, until I realize there are no pigs left. Not that I’ve seen over the years. “I don’t have a pig to give you, Pumpkin. But if I did, you could definitely have it.”

  She breathes softly. “Otay.”

  At this, I do laugh. “Go to bed, sleepyhead. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  Her reply is to grunt. She’s out, snoring seconds later.

  I tuck the blanket down around her and stoke the fire before resting. Moments after my head hits the pillow, darkness surrounds me. Sleep, a welcome companion.

  ~~~~~

  Noise is not what wakes me, but the distraught and panic that wraps around me and sinks its claws into my skin does. My heart is pounding when my eyes snap open. Immediately, I check Azami and make sure she’s still sleeping. Her face is calm and peaceful, deep in her dreams. The initial shock wears off and I’m able to read the emotions wrapping around me.

  James.

  I check Azami one more time and slip out of our room and down the hall. I pull the curtain aside and step inside his room. Mason has his arm flung over his eyes, covering the light from the fire. His soft snore sounds from his half-open mouth. James is asleep on his side of the room. He’s not moving, but his expression is tight, and his emotions are deadly weapons spearing me through the walls.

  Mason grunts and turns toward me. “What’re you doing?”

  “James is dreaming. His emotions woke me,” I say, still anchored to the same spot.