The Ark Plan

by Laura Martin

  Todd ignored all of it and strode to the back of the hut where a tall, skinny man with a thin face that reminded me of a rat stood behind the counter. He nodded briskly to Todd and looked Shawn and me over with suspicious black eyes.

  “What can I do for you?” Adler asked. He had an oily voice that matched the long, matted hair clinging to his partially bald scalp.

  Todd grinned wolfishly at the man. “We need some supplies for my friends here: two good bows and arrows to go with them, arm sheaths, and knives to go in them. Oh, and boots.”

  “That’s a tall order,” said Adler. “What are you planning to trade for all that?”

  Todd grabbed the suits from Shawn’s hands and flipped them onto the table. Adler’s eyes grew large, and he ran his long, thin fingers over the iridescent fabric hungrily.

  “I believe we can make a trade. I’ll give you the bows and knives, but no boots.” Todd just crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

  “What if I throw in this?” Shawn asked, taking a box out of his pocket and setting it on the counter.

  “What is it?” Adler asked, poking at it gingerly, as though it might explode. My heart sank. I knew what that was. Shawn had been carrying it in his pocket for as long as I could remember.

  “It’s a music box,” I said. “And it’s not part of the deal.” I went to grab it, but Adler swiped it off the counter.

  “Will it get us the boots?” Shawn asked.

  “Shawn, what are you doing?” I hissed.

  “Does it work?” Adler asked.

  In reply, Shawn reached over and turned the key at the back, and the faintest of lullabies filled the small hut. I still remembered the day Shawn had finally fixed it. He’d been sitting in my room in the Guardian Wing, and he’d jumped up and down, doing a little jig in celebration.

  “Boots and another knife and sheath for each of them,” Todd said quickly. “That’s more than a fair offer. You and I both know that thing will trade well.” Adler looked back at Todd and, after a moment’s hesitation, nodded and stuck out his hand. Todd shook it, sealing the deal. Adler began piling the merchandise onto the counter. The knives in their arm sheaths looked particularly lethal. Once all the items were accounted for, we handed over the suits and left.

  “You didn’t need to do that,” I muttered to Shawn once we were back in the sunlight.

  “She’s right,” Todd said. “Adler would have come around to my deal eventually. Didn’t I tell you not to talk?”

  Shawn clenched his teeth, and I knew he was regretting his rash decision. “I wanted to make sure we got everything.”

  “Whatever, just put the boots on,” Todd instructed, handing me a tall leather pair. “Those slippers you two are wearing are useless.” The boots were old, the leather soft and supple under my fingers as I pulled them onto my aching feet. It looked like they’d been resoled about a million times, but they fit surprisingly well. When we got back on the trail, I didn’t feel every stick and rock like I had in my compound shoes. It was fabulous. Todd took a few minutes to help us fasten the knife sheaths onto our arms. What I had thought was a pile of leather straps turned out to be a quiver to hold the massive arrows that went with our bows. Arrows we didn’t know how to use. I frowned but then pushed the thought away. There wasn’t time for the lessons Todd had mentioned, even if they were tempting.

  “So now that we’ve got our supplies, what’s the plan?” Shawn asked.

  “We’re wasting daylight.” I said, glancing up. “We should really get going.”

  Todd looked disappointed. “What’s your rush? It’s not like Lake Michigan is going anywhere.”

  “He has a point,” Shawn said, pulling back the string of his new bow experimentally. “I’d like to practice with this thing.” He let the string go and yelped when it snapped back into place. Todd laughed as Shawn hopped around, flapping his stinging hand.

  “Not as easy as it looks, is it?” Todd said.

  “We’ll be okay,” I said. “We’ll learn as we go.”

  Todd shook his head. “Doubtful.” I frowned. It probably was stupid to turn my back on the offer of training, but the burning sense of urgency in my stomach wouldn’t let me take him up on the offer. I was already a year behind from where my dad thought I’d be. I wanted to get to the lake. And I wanted to get there yesterday.

  “Well, at least come back to the Oaks for lunch,” Todd said. “My mom has something for you.”

  “I don’t know.” I hesitated, not wanting to be rude. “We really should get going. And we already owe you guys too much as it is.” Suddenly Todd stiffened, and a moment later I heard the thudding roar of an engine.

  On instinct, I grabbed Todd and Shawn, pulling them into the underbrush and out of sight.

  “What are they?” Todd asked, gazing wide-eyed as three large black shapes buzzed past us overhead.

  “Helicopters,” Shawn supplied, his voice awed as he stared up at the whirring propellers. “I didn’t think any of those existed anymore.” I watched them fly past, the golden ark emblazoned across their sides, and for the first time, the Noah’s symbol sent a shiver of fear up my spine. The feeling surprised me. The symbol had never made me feel anything but grudging admiration before.

  “What’s a helicopter?” Todd asked.

  “It’s a flying machine,” Shawn said. “It carries passengers. Not as many as the Noah’s plane, but they are supposed to have more mobility than a plane.”

  “The Noah?” Todd said, and I saw terror cross his face. Before I could stop him, he was up and running toward the Oaks.

  “I have a bad feeling about this,” I said, getting up to run after him. “Really bad.”

  “Why?” Shawn asked, scrambling up to follow me. “The Noah probably just spotted the Oaks, and he wants to help.”

  “And what if he doesn’t want to help?” I called back over my shoulder as I raced through the woods after Todd.

  “Why else would helicopters be here?” Shawn called, struggling to keep up as we ducked under low-hanging tree branches.

  “I don’t know,” I admitted. The crack of a gun reverberated throughout the forest, and I pushed to catch up with Todd.

  Todd was fast, but by some miracle I was faster. Moments before he would have burst into the open, I made a flying leap and brought him to the ground in a tumble of legs and arms. We skidded to a stop behind a low pile of bushes, and I smashed my hand over his mouth.

  “What are you doing?” Shawn whispered, catching up. I shook my head, and he helped me pin down the flailing Todd. I peered up through the bushes and froze as I saw what was happening less than fifty yards away. My stomach clenched painfully as panic raced through my system. With an effort, I pushed it back, ducking my head under the cover of the bushes. I needed to think. I could panic later. Todd struggled beneath me, biting down on my hand, hard, and I had to stifle a scream. I pressed my lips against his ear and whispered as quickly and as quietly as I could manage.

  “Stay down. The Noah’s marines are here.” Todd struggled again, biting down harder on my hand, and tears slid down my cheeks. “Stop it,” I hissed through gritted teeth. “If we make a noise now, we’ll get caught. Then we won’t be any good to anybody.” I looked in his eyes, hoping to see reason return. Slowly he released the skin of my hand; my palm burned. I waited another few seconds and then took my hand away.

  “What’s going on?” Shawn whispered. He sat behind me, Todd’s legs and one arm pinned firmly underneath him.

  “It looks bad,” I admitted. I glanced at Todd again. “If we let you up, do you promise not to go charging in there? They have guns.” Todd’s face went white, but he nodded.

  “Marines always have guns when they go topside, Sky,” Shawn whispered. “What’s the big deal?”

  “They don’t point them at innocent people,” I snapped back. Shawn looked confused, but he got off Todd’s legs and together we peered out over the top of the bush.

  Standing in the clearing were ten marines in bl
ack body armor with the gold ark crest across their chests. Thick visors covered their eyes. Five of them had lethal-looking guns leveled at a cluster of villagers huddled under one of the trees. They made the stun gun Shawn had stolen look like a toy. I frowned. The gun Shawn had stolen had turned out to be a toy. There was a pile of broken and splintered arrows littering the ground at their feet. Todd’s village hadn’t been prepared for body armor. As I watched, more arrows rained down on the remaining marines, who were attempting, unsuccessfully, to climb the ropes leading up to the tree houses. Suddenly Shawn grabbed on to my arm, and I whipped around to see a look of pure disbelief on his face.

  “This doesn’t make any sense,” Shawn said. “What are they doing?”

  “Surrender!” yelled a voice I recognized. I went numb as General Ron Kennedy stepped away from the pack, wearing the same thick metal body armor as the rest of the marines. And that’s when I knew for certain that we’d been followed. These weren’t random rogue marines. These were our marines, the marines of North Compound that I had grown up with and worked under for all of my life. We had been followed, and now Todd’s village was going to pay the price for our crimes. Shawn went rigid beside me, and I knew he’d just realized the same thing.

  General Kennedy walked over to the group of villagers, most of whom were women wearing dirt-smeared clothing and holding shovels and spades. He grabbed Emily roughly by the arm and dragged her into view of the tree houses above. Putting his gun to her temple, he glared up at the trees. “Surrender or she dies,” he yelled. “I’ll kill your women one by one. And when I have no one left to kill, I’ll set fire to the trees.” He tightened his grip on Emily, and Todd lifted his bow to shoot.

  “He’s wearing body armor,” I whispered in Todd’s ear. “All you’ll do is give away our position. Or, worse, your shot will ricochet and hit your mom.”

  Todd lowered the bow, but the look on his face broke my heart. My fault, I thought numbly. This is all my fault. I tried to push aside the sense of hopelessness that was threatening to overwhelm me. I needed to think of a way to save these people who had been kind and welcoming to us. Seconds later, ten bows fell to the ground with muffled thumps. Two of them broke on contact, but the others were gathered by the marines. I looked up as the remaining villagers came climbing down the trees, but the fear and hatred I saw etched in their faces had me looking away guiltily.

  No longer being pelted by arrows, the marines climbed the ropes and entered the tree houses. They ran from house to house, guns drawn. A gunshot came from one of the houses and I jumped. Todd’s face tightened. A few of the captured villagers screamed, and I saw Emily scanning the surrounding woods with wide, frightened eyes. It didn’t take much to know who she was looking for. The marines had their backs to us, so when she looked our way, I pulled aside the leafy branch we were concealed behind and made eye contact. Her face, already drained of color, got even whiter. She shook her head ever so slightly, and I nodded.

  Just then one of the villagers broke from the group and ran for the woods. The marines shouted, and someone screamed as a gunshot rang out. The man crumpled and didn’t move. I tightened my grip on Todd’s shoulder. Kennedy tucked his gun back into his belt and turned to the villagers. I swallowed hard, worried I was going to be sick.

  “Let that be a lesson on how our Noah deals with rebels and traitors,” Kennedy sneered, nodding to the marines standing guard. “Get them into the choppers. If anyone gives you any trouble, shoot them.”

  I watched in helpless horror as, one by one, Todd’s fellow villagers were loaded into the belly of the helicopters. Without warning, Kennedy snaked a hand out to grab Emily before she had a chance to board. As he roughly pulled her away from the huddled group of villagers, his gun drawn, I felt Todd stiffen beside me. I tightened my grip on his arm.

  “This one seems to be the leader,” one of the marines said, shoving Jett forward roughly.

  “Good,” Kennedy said, and with his gun pointed at Emily’s temple, he looked straight at Jett. “I hope I don’t have to tell you that telling the truth is in this lady’s best interest.” Jett nodded, his eyes hard. “We are looking for two kids. A boy and a girl. They are escaped convicts from North Compound. Have you seen them?”

  Jett’s eyes flicked to Emily’s panicked ones. “No,” he said evenly. “I haven’t.”

  Kennedy nodded, and the marine standing behind Jett raised his gun and slammed the butt of it into the side of Jett’s head. Emily cried out, and I slapped my hand over my mouth to hold in my own cry. Todd jerked beside me, and I tightened my grip, my fingers digging into his arm.

  “I’m going to ask again,” Kennedy said, this time holding the gun to Jett’s head, his eyes on Emily. “Have you seen a boy and a girl? The boy is short, and not very bright. The girl has red hair.”

  “No,” Emily said, her voice shaky but firm. Kennedy stared at her, evaluating, and I held my breath. Then with a jerk, he pulled the gun away from Jett’s head and gave him a disgusted kick.

  “Load them into the chopper with the rest,” he said. Kennedy motioned for two other marines to follow him into the woods. They hurried over to obey orders, and I realized with a jolt that they were heading straight for us. We ducked our heads, and I bit my lip so hard I tasted blood.

  “Well?” Kennedy barked.

  “She was supposed to be here, sir,” responded the taller of the two marines. “Our tracking methods have a very high degree of accuracy.”

  “Your methods didn’t work.” I could hear the venom and hate dripping from his every word. “Somebody screwed up, Jeffrey. And when I find out who that somebody is, heads will roll.” When I glanced toward Shawn, his face looked just as sick as I felt. Even though Jett had searched us, something we carried with us had led them straight to the Oaks. The urge to rip off my pack and begin going through my things was overwhelming. I felt tainted. Like I carried around something disgusting and dirty. But I didn’t dare move a muscle. Not now. Not with Kennedy standing mere feet away from where we crouched.

  “Sir,” said one of the marines. “If I may ask, why are we putting so much effort into finding two children? They were probably eaten within minutes of venturing topside.”

  “Those children stole valuable government property. The Noah commanded we recover that property,” Kennedy said, his voice dangerous. “Is that not enough for you, soldier?”

  “Yes, sir,” the marine said, ducking his head. “Sorry, sir.”

  “Go tell the pilots we leave in two,” Kennedy said. The marines hurried back to the helicopter, and Kennedy stood for a moment staring out into the woods, a frown on his face, before finally turning to join them. Seconds later the choppers took off in a whir of thrumming propellers and roaring engines. I blinked back angry, helpless tears as I watched Todd’s entire village disappear over the trees.

  Todd stumbled to his feet as soon as the choppers were out of sight, and ran to the fallen man. When Todd rolled him over, I realized it was Roderick, the man who’d helped me with my map. His blue eyes wore a frozen expression of shock, and I turned away, my stomach churning. Todd scrambled to his feet and pulled his bow off his back and pointed it straight at us. “What tracking method was he talking about?” he yelled. Hot, angry tears were falling from his eyes, but I didn’t think he even realized it.

  “Easy,” I said, taking a few hasty steps back. I felt myself bump into Shawn. I glanced over and saw him eyeing Todd’s bow warily.

  “You led them here. Why? Why would you do that?” Todd asked, his features twisted in pain and rage.

  “I don’t know what tracking device he’s talking about,” I said, feeling helpless. I looked at Shawn. “Do you?”

  He shook his head, a look of pure confusion on his bone-white face.

  “Jett’s guys must have missed something,” I said, dropping my pack to the ground with a loud thump. “There must be a tracker hidden somewhere that I don’t know about.” I immediately began pulling out each of my belongings, going
over them carefully, inch by inch, centimeter by centimeter, looking for the telltale bulge of a tracker. After another nervous glance at Todd, Shawn dropped his own pack and began looking over his belongings as well. Todd watched us for a second, and then he took a threatening step toward us, bringing his drawn arrow within inches of my face.

  “Where are they taking them?” Todd cried. “Tell me or I’ll shoot. I swear I will. This is all your fault.”

  “It’s not,” Shawn said, looking up from the canteen he was inspecting, and then he glanced at me and grimaced. “Okay. It kind of is.”

  “We didn’t lead them here on purpose. I promise,” I said, pulling out the few ration packs I’d managed to steal. I couldn’t imagine anyone putting a tracker in one of those, but I looked anyway. “We would never do that to you. You heard General Kennedy. They are trying to find us. He called us convicts.”

  “What’s a convict?” Todd sniffed.

  “A criminal,” I explained. “Which we technically are, since we stole supplies before we left. But I’ve never heard of the marines going after someone.”

  “No one was ever dumb enough to go topside besides your dad,” Shawn muttered, then, seeming to realize that he’d spoken out loud, he glanced at me. “No offense.” He turned to look at Todd. “Why did your mom and Jett cover for us? I don’t get it.” I didn’t understand it either. No one in the compound would have lied for us.

  “Because we’re good people,” Todd spat. “Unlike you.”

  “Todd,” I said, finally done with my inspection. “I know you probably hate us right now, but I really didn’t think anyone would come after us. I never would have put your village in danger like that.” I sighed as I cinched my bag shut again. “And I know you aren’t going to believe me, but I still can’t find a tracker.”