Cam and I barely make it back through the earthen tunnel and down into the lava tunnels before the sun starts to peek over the eastern horizon. Hidden back down in the tunnel, Cam and I relax. We pick our way back through the passage and stretch out muscles that are stiff from crouching in the food cooler.
Although I don’t like the heights at the entrance to the tunnels, I enjoy being down inside the tunnels themselves. Colorful graffiti decorates the rough lava walls, even high up on the ceiling. Natural shelves created by the lava flows jut out from the sides of the tunnels, and over the years people have placed candles and trinkets on them. The migrant workers before us used these tunnels to hide when the government raided the camps for illegals.
Of course, that was before almost a third of our country’s legal population became immigrants in our own country. There are too many people that are homeless and jobless now, especially here in the Borderlands, and our government doesn’t have time to figure out who is illegal or not. What would they do, anyway? Load us up in buses and take us where? Canada and Mexico closed their borders once the Chinese bought our coast. They knew they couldn’t support the millions of displaced people streaming away from the coast.
The mines. I shiver. That’s where they would ship us. To work in the mines.
We reach our exit. Since it’s so early in the morning we didn’t encounter any other people in the tunnels. We head down the slope to our campsite.
Last year Cam helped me build a lean-to shed into the face of the rock wall near our tent.
There are other tents and wood shacks built up alongside both sides of the river for miles and miles. This valley is one long canyon etched out by the Snake River. The canyon used to be called the Snake River Canyon until hundreds of thousands of us settled here along its length. Now, Hells Canyon is more fitting.
The lives that were lost traveling here serve as a reminder to look out for one another.
Cam and I step inside our lean-to and shut the door behind us. After pushing aside some supplies, we pull up several fake floorboards to expose another space underneath where we place our new supplies. They’re safer here than in our tent. This cellar is carved out of the softer rock that makes up the bed of this valley. It’s how we got the idea for digging under the Dragon Wall.
We take with us some meat for the day and head to our tent. Even though Cam and I were up all night, we still have to go to the fields to work. Six and a half days a week we pull weeds, plant new fields, harvest crops, and whatever the land bosses need of us. Of course, since Mom can’t work, Cam and I have to work for all three of us.
We eat a small breakfast and wake up Mom. We leave the meat with her to prepare for tonight. If I instruct her, and she’s having a semi-decent day, she’ll at least do this much for us. I know it takes a lot out of her, but it’s one way she can help.
We fill our water bottles up with filtered water and add some jerky to our packs. I make sure to take the little book Kai gave me. I study any time I can. I usually can get through a couple of chapters during break times or during the walk to and from the fields.
I smile as Cam falls into step next to me, and I start reading. It’s peaceful this early in the morning. People are just starting to head up the path behind us. With the adrenaline from almost being discovered last night, the exhaustion hasn’t hit us yet. But it will.
A couple of women in wide brimmed hats hurry past us pulling their kids along with them. The first to arrive up top get picked by the bosses for the better paying jobs. But those are also the jobs that are more visible. I’ve learned it’s safer to blend in, so Cam and I hang back. I’d rather stay out of sight of the bosses and avoid trouble. Even though we end up getting the worst jobs, they’re usually far across the fields or at the edges clearing ditches. This allows me more time to read, and Cam to relax a bit and just be an eleven-year-old boy.
I’ve got to get Mom up and moving around more. When I go off to the Academy, she’ll need to take care of Cam until he can make it through prep school.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Cam will join in a few years. He’s not only smarter than I am, but he’s been working the fields practically his whole life. He’s strong and fast. I have a feeling he’ll be one of the youngest to enter into the Academy. But that’s still years away. I tuck my hat down lower against the brightening sun and open the book full of formulas that Kai gave me last night.
Once again, Cam and I luck out and get a quiet section near the drainage canal. They hand us shovels and we work under the hot sun cleaning out the end rows in between the potato plants.
“Do you think Mom looked worse today?”
“No.” I blow a stray hair out of my face. “I don’t know. She always looks tired these days. But at least she was willing to get up to make dinner tonight.”
“I know she always looks tired. I just think she’s worse than normal.” He throws a shovel of dirt at me.
“Hey!” I look around before I throw a shovel of dirt back at him.
He giggles and moves over a row to stay out of reach. He starts singing a song in Spanish that he learned from one of the other kids. I smile and get back to digging my row. He amazes me with how cheery he stays despite this life.
5
Hells Canyon
During our lunch break I have Cam quiz me on the stuff I read this morning. He helps me by making up little songs to remember the words and definitions. Mom used to do this with us. She helped me learn my multiplication tables and algebra functions this way.
A wave of sadness hits me, and I have to stand up.
“Let’s get back to work now, Cam.”
“Okay, race you to the end of that row.” He points to the other side of the fields. It’ll take us the rest of the afternoon to reach that far.
“Fine. Loser gets to help Mom with dinner.” I grin.
Cam flings his backpack over his shoulder and runs to the next row with his shovel. Cooking is not his favorite thing to do. Especially when Mom is pretty much catatonic throughout the process, hardly even acknowledging our presence.
By the time we get home, exhausted and dirty, I have the first chapter of Kai’s book memorized. I, of course lost our bet, so I have to help with dinner. Cam is so much stronger than me even though I’m extremely fit. In the fields, Cam has blossomed physically. His tanned skin shines healthy under his straggly, uncut blond hair.
After dinner I don’t have the energy to force Mom to walk the distance to Dr. Tuttle’s tent. The doctor is at the far side of the river, and I doubt she could make it. I’m just going to have to pay extra for the doctor to come here in the morning. I watch as she rolls back into her sleeping bag. She is worse. Cam was right. A knot in my stomach tightens as I watch her go back to sleep, barely having eaten anything.
I clean up and drag my sleeping bag out of the tent then lie down wearily. I love looking up at the stars on clear nights and imagining getting into the Academy. I see Cam, Mom, and I living aboard a space station, looking down on this harsh world and its dusty, hard life.
“You nervous?” Cam drags his sleeping bag next to mine.
“For the test? Of course not.” I laugh. Cam pokes me hard in the side. “Okay, okay. Yes, I’m nervous. What if I don’t pass? What else would I do down here?” I look around at the stone walls and dry ground. “I don’t think I could handle living like this forever.” I swallow. “Or working in the mines.”
Cam doesn’t say anything. I’m surprised at his silence, expecting him to come up with some sort of encouraging retort, or at least a sarcastic remark.
I watch him pull at a thread on his sleeping bag, a miserable look on his face.
“What’s the matter, Cam? You don’t think I’ll pass either, huh?” I nudge him with my shoulder, but he stays quiet. I wait patiently for him to answer.
“No, I know you’ll pass. It’s just that, I know this sounds awful, but I kind of don’t want you to pass.” He throws his arm over his head and burrows down into hi
s sleeping bag.
“What? Why, Cam? Don’t you want us to have a better life?” I gesture at our meager belongings, which takes about two seconds. Then I realize he can’t see me with his head buried.
“Cam?” I reach over and put an arm around him.
He pops his head up far enough to look me in the eye. “I know. I do want things to be better. Of course I do. But if the only way for things to get better is for you to go away to the Academy, I don’t like it. I don’t want to be left here alone.” He slams his head back into the sleeping bag and starts crying.
“Cam, Mom will still be here with you. And she’s getting better at cooking.” I smile, but there’s no response. “And then when you’re old enough, you’ll come join me up there. There are a lot of siblings stationed on the same stations.”
Cam turns his head so I can barely hear him. “You don’t really think she can take care of me while you’re gone, do you? She can’t even make it to the fields or leave our campsite.” Cam’s voice gets louder and he looks quickly over at the tent.
We both stop to listen, and soon hear the soft snores that tell us that she’s still asleep. I make a goofy face and Cam giggles at me.
“That’s why we’re stockpiling extra canned goods for you two. And I can also send credits down from my job. I’ll make sure you’re taken care of, I promise.” I push his sweaty bangs back so I can see his piercing blue eyes. He got his blond hair and blue eyes from Mom, whereas I got Dad’s red hair and green eyes.
I wish Cam could have a normal life, not this crazy split world on the edge of chaos.
We fall asleep under the blanket of stars and listen to Mom snoring and coughing quietly, crickets chirping in the sagebrush, and the rustling of other people in nearby tents.
Just as I fall asleep, I remember that I might not have the whole three months until I take the test for the Academy. If what Instructor Terry was trying to warn me about is true. All the laughter Cam and I shared during the day drains from my body, and I fall into a dark, fitful asleep.
I wake tired and exhausted. It feels like the worry has burrowed into the very core of my bones. Thankfully, today is Sunday, so Cam and I will only need to work until lunchtime.
“The traveling trucks are coming today!” Cam bounces on my sleeping bag, his sad mood from last night faded with the darkness.
I squint up at him. “That’s right. So, make sure your backpack is empty so we can fill both our packs this time.”
We get dressed and share a cold breakfast. Cam helps me get supplies out of storage for bartering, and I make sure to give Mrs. Mitchell the cream we brought for her. I leave fresh water bottles and a sandwich next to Mom and kiss her cheek. It’s warm to the touch, and I frown. I need to find Dr. Tuttle today.
This time, Cam and I make sure to get up out of the canyon ahead of the crowd and in line first. The boss I’m looking for I call the Pirate — not to his face of course — because he has only one eye. He owns one of the fields farthest from here, but closest to where the food trucks will be. Cam and I jump on the back of his flatbed truck and wait for the others.
The morning goes fast. Dark rain clouds swirl overhead. The air is thick with humidity, and smells like dusty rain already. I love this weather. The storms remind me of home, except we don’t get much rain here, mostly lightning and thunder if we’re lucky. Cam and I love sitting up high on the cliff walls, watching the lightning strike over the mountains south of our canyon.
At noon Cam and I walk quickly down the road toward the gravel lot where the trucks will park. We eat our dried beef and fruit on the way there. Other than school and our excursions to visit Kai, this is as much excitement as we get here.
Soon we hear the roar of engines and see a cloud of dust coming toward us. A whole line of modified food and delivery trucks crawl through the dust. Several of them do actually sell food — my favorite of course is Angel’s Tamales. Angel Conpaz makes and sells the best food I’ve ever tasted. With the Mitchells’ food coming in a close second, of course. The other trucks sell clothing, hardware, farming implements, camping supplies, and toiletries.
The truck I need first sells toiletries, medicine, and first aid supplies. I head quickly for this one. Cam and I are first to reach it as it comes to a stop.
We wait for the dust to settle, and then greet the white-haired woman who steps down from the driver’s seat. “Hi Mrs. Baird. How are you?” Mrs. Baird is also my science teacher. Since the government doesn’t pay the border teachers very well, she drives this truck in her free time to make extra money.
“Doing good today, Anja. Just give me a minute to get the truck ready.”
The lack of funding for our teachers seems to have something to do with the Chinese students that are brought across the border to attend. There are certain political groups that don’t like the Chinese presence here, even though it was our government who initiated the sale and benefited financially. So, although we have a brand new, high tech prep school, they don’t pay the teachers hardly anything. I don’t know how it all works, but Mrs. Baird says it has something to do with how our state divides up its federal money. Inland schools get a lot more money for teachers and supplies. The whole thing sucks. After decades of fighting for equal rights for minorities, it seems like our society has gone backwards several decades.
That’s how I befriended Kai. I almost got suspended from school after punching a boy who was spouting some racist garbage at Kai. I just couldn’t stand any more ignorance and hatred. Kai went to the principal and explained what happened. I only got a few days of after-school detention.
I ended up enjoying after-school detention, because Kai would stay late and help me study. We got to know each other pretty well, and I ended up confiding in him about my situation at home. That’s when he devised the plan to smuggle food and supplies to me. Although the tunnel under the Wall was Cam’s brazen idea.
Mrs. Baird pushes open the window on the side of the truck. Cam and I help her fasten and secure it to the ledge.
“How’s your mom doing?” Mrs. Baird has a warm, motherly voice that makes me feel comfortable around her.
“She’s doing fairly well.” I look around. The other workers have hit up the tamale truck first, the smell of fresh corn and beef thick in the air. Good. I reach into my bag and pull out a package.
“Here you go, Mrs. Baird. How much can I get for this?” Mrs. Baird never asks me where I get the medical supplies from.
She pulls the package down behind the counter to open it. It sounds like dry beans rolling around. She looks up at me. “Quite some good stuff today. Are you sure you want to trade for these?”
I nod. I really don’t know what the pills are for exactly, but Kai said they’d be worth a lot. “I need enough supplies to last Cam and Mom while I’m at the Academy.”
She makes a clucking noise and wraps the bundle back up and shoves it under the counter. I know I can trust her not to turn me in for the illegal pills. Since they came from Kai’s side of the Wall, no one on this side will be able to trace them. This makes it safer for her to resell them. She’ll also be able to make ten times what they’re worth in the city. I’ll only get a fraction of that, but it’ll be enough for what I need.
I hand her my list. The trucks only make it out here once a month and sometimes only every other month. I always have to think ahead for what we might need.
A fight breaks out between two men right in front of the tamale truck, causing quite a commotion.
Mrs. Baird hands me the bag and I stuff it into the bottom of my backpack. “That should be enough to last you, your mom, and Cam through the fall and winter. Good luck with the tests, and don’t worry about Cam and your mom. I’ll make sure they have what they need to get by. You just do us all proud. You’re going to be the first female border student to make it into the Academy. Imagine that! You’re such a wonderful role model for the others.” She smiles, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes. She glances at the back of Cam’s head.
“I just wish all of you could have the same quality of education as the others. Doesn’t seem right.”
“I know, I sure wish Cam could be going to our prep school instead of having only a few hours of lessons at the old school.” I shake my head.
I put my backpack on and check again to see if anyone is heading this way. The fight is being broken up by a couple of the land bosses. I turn back to Mrs. Baird and lower my voice. “Do you know when the tests will be held? I heard a rumor it was going to happen sooner than the three-month date we have right now.”
Mrs. Baird glances out behind me, and then leans over the counter. The frown lines on her forehead crease together, and she speaks right next to my ear. “You’re correct. The government decided to move up the tests all along the border.” She doesn’t look away from the crowd of people. A few have skirted the fight and are making their way our direction.
I lean against the truck, trying to look relaxed. “But I don’t understand. Don’t they want the border schools to be successful? They spent a lot of money constructing them. Is it because we’re poor immigrants that they ignore us?”
Mrs. Baird shakes her head, her short curls bouncing. “No, honey. It’s not because we’re poor. It’s because we know too much. We’re within a stone’s throw of the Wall and we see what’s really going on along the border. We know that our own government did this — pushed us out of our homes. We also know that most of the Chinese families didn’t choose this either, that they’re caught up in this mess as much as we are. All this contradicts how our media is trying to portray the situation. They want us to believe the Chinese are responsible for our misery, and not our own country.” She waves at two women who are approaching. “Politics,” she scoffs.
Before the others are within earshot, Mrs. Baird leans down and says, “So you need to study hard and get up there. You can make a difference with what you know. You can make things better for all of us here in the Borderlands.” She smiles and winks at me.
Earthlight Space Academy Boxset Page 4