by Hannah Ross
"It would be nice. But it'd mean a lot of sweating out there in the fields, wouldn't it? Also, one would have to spend all year in one place, and that's kind of boring, don't you think?"
Elisa shook her head. "I don't know what boring is with so much to do and so many new things to try. And besides, the landscape changes so much with the seasons. There's snow in winter, and fresh grass and budding leaves in spring, lush green shady trees in the summer, and rich harvest in the fall, just before everything turns red and gold and brown. It's never the same, so it's like traveling, really, even while you stay at the same place. It's a bit like magic," she added with a shy smile.
"I understand. But as you've probably already figured out, I get itchy being in one place for too long. I love to be out hunting, scouting new areas, or just riding Ink." She yawned. "Anyway…the horses. I suggest we set out tomorrow at dawn. What do you say, Ben?"
"Sounds good. We've been practicing with the lasso although, you know, it's not the same when you do it on each other."
Raven laughed. "I'd have loved to see that."
"We wanted to practice on the goats," said Mac, "but someone wouldn't hear of it."
"Darn right," Elisa said. "We just started to get a nice yield of milk and cheese and I didn't want to spoil it all."
"Cheese," repeated Marleen, grabbing a piece with her pudgy hand.
"Marleen," Jen said in mom mode. "Don't smear food all over you."
"Oh, relax, Jen," said Gabby. "Mess is a part of living with children, and when you've got several, it grows…what's that word, Mac? A math word. I keep forgetting."
"Exponentially."
"That's it. I was never good at math. Except, you know, for counting and measuring and all the basic things we need every day."
Marleen plunged her fingers into the bowl of cherries and triumphantly shoved a handful in her mouth. Jen pursed her lips but said nothing and lapsed into moody silence until the end of the meal.
Despite some misgivings by those who had not before been on a horse, it was decided that Ben, Mac, Tom, and Jimmy would go on horseback with Raven, Patrick, Sean, and Tanya while the others would ride in Sidney's Explorer.
Mac and Tom were to ride with Patrick and Sean and were quickly seated behind them, but Jimmy, who looked as if he regretted getting roped into this, awkwardly climbed up behind Tanya. Elisa, Frank, and Holly settled into the Explorer, which would keep some distance behind so the noise of the engine would not startle the animals. That left Ben standing alone, well aware he would ride with Raven, who was sitting in her saddle, impatiently clicking her tongue.
"Ben. Come on before it gets too hot."
Though the early morning was fresh and cool, Ben felt like it was already too hot as he climbed into the saddle behind Raven.
"Hold on tight," she said, and his arms circled her waist, pressing them together. She was wearing deerskin breeches and an old plaid shirt, and strands of her shiny black hair got out of the bun at the back of her neck and tickled Ben's face as they billowed in the wind. "Hold tighter, Ben," she said as she spurred Ink onward. He shifted forward until he was plastered against her back and soon forgot the purpose of their ride, just wanting it to go on and on, along the shining river, through the rolling green meadows, by the shady outline of a dark forest, as he reveled in the warmth and feeling of the close connection.
It was mid-morning when they reached the summit of a gently sloping hill and spotted the horses. A rusty railway coiled through the snug little valley where the herd peacefully grazed.
In the hazy distance, Ben saw the outline of a small ghost town, almost untouched by war and remembered something Raven once told him. I sometimes like to imagine there are still people in some of the towns and that they live just as everybody did before the War. It would be a curious sight.
Now, though, Raven did not stop to indulge in such idle thoughts. She looked down at the horses, and a slow grin spread across her face. "There they are," she said, her voice a reverent whisper.
The others on horseback rode up to join them as Sidney's Explorer stopped halfway down the hill. The doors of the jeep swung open, people clambered out and hurried to stand by the riders.
Sidney seemed enthralled by the panorama before him. Except for a few piles of half-overgrown metal junk and the barely visible old railway, the landscape looked pristine, perfect. The tall grasses were so green, the sky so blue, the little white clouds like puffs of pure cotton. The horses' glossy sides, black and brown and white, reflected the golden sun. "Magnificent," he mumbled. "Simply magnificent."
Raven tore her eyes away and turned Ink to look at the others. "Remember, now, don't startle them before it's time. Our job is to close in on this valley. Patrick, Sean, you ride forward. Tanya, you take that side. Ben and I will start down, but only when everybody else is in position. Everybody got a lasso?"
Sidney took out his camera and gently wiped the lens with a soft cloth.
"Wow," said Elisa. "That's a good one, isn't it? One sometimes sees them in the ruins, but it's near impossible to find functioning batteries anymore."
The riders took their positions, and Raven whistled. The lead mustang, a handsome grey stallion, suspicious of the new sound, raised his head and neighed. The riders galloped down as the chase began.
Ben saw Raven practice with her lasso a couple of times, but it was different now. She was so quick, her movements were all a blur. Four lassos lashed forward at once. Three found their mark and one missed. For a moment, Ben feared they would get trampled beneath the hooves of the panicking horses, but the herd, three horses short, galloped due north between the positions of Patrick and Sean, and the chasers were left to examine their catch.
Two were young ones, a male and a female, both with identical glossy chestnut coats and darker manes, which made it seem they could be brother and sister. The third, a mare, appeared to be pregnant.
"I hope it turns out OK," Elisa said, clearly worried. The mare, so tangled in the rope she could hardly move, was shivering and frantically neighing. "She might give birth prematurely, and then she'll lose the foal."
"Elisa's right," said Raven. "We'll have to go slow and gentle, and hope for the best."
Elisa wanted to get back to camp ahead of the others and prepare the pen for the newly captured horses, so Sidney revved up his Explorer, picked up his three companions, and drove off. The rest rode very slowly, leading the roped horses at a gentle trot. When the horses appeared to be fully calm, they stopped by the river and watered them. Then they tied them where they could graze, returned to the river to splash water on their hot faces, and grabbed a quick bite. The sun was halfway below the horizon by the time they reached the Eagles' camp.
The pen was ready to welcome the newcomers. There were buckets of feed, buckets of water, and a waterproof awning to provide shade at midday and shelter the horses from rain. For the winter, Ben, Mac, and Enzo were planning to erect a proper barn that would be nearly as snug and warm as the log house.
Despite the food and water, the new horses huddled together in one corner of the pen, snorting nervously, and again shivering from fear. Elisa thought the sight of other horses peacefully grazing might be calming to the new captives so they tethered the Ravens' horses outside, a short way off.
Sidney was skeptical. "It's hard to believe anyone will ever be able to ride those," he said, leaning against the gate of the pen.
"Don't forget, they were born in the wild," said Raven, "but in the end, horses are domesticated animals. They can be tamed. We did quite well with ours." She patted Ink's neck, and the mare bent her head and sniffed at Raven's ear, making her laugh. "They'll get used to you, and they can love you. Of course, in order to make that happen, you need to spend lots of time with them and treat them kindly. It works pretty much the same way as with humans."
"And goats," Elisa said. "Our goats looked just as wild and scared when we first captured them. Now they come to me when they see me, and I can milk them with no troub
le at all. Once, they ran away when I took them out to pasture, and I was sure they were lost, but when I got back to camp, feeling so dejected, it turned out they had all come back. It's their home now, as it is ours."
Sidney nodded. Home. Such a short word, yet it encompasses so much. These children… Well, I guess they're not children anymore…they got lucky. They were rejected at birth, mistreated during a major part of their young lives, sent out into an empty and dangerous world and yet they survived. More than survived. They have a real home now, and a new family. Their social structure, and home, and life are so different from life within the Boundary. I think I envy them. Despite all the privations, they seem happier than most of the people I know in the anthills of the Urban Islands.
Ben looked around at the food and everyone talking and eating and suppressed a grin. All simple dishes, food we have all the time, but it feels like a feast. Are we celebrating capturing the horses or seeing our friends from Raven's camp, or we all just so darn hungry from the day away?
A small barrel was rolled out into the middle of the scrubbed wooden table, and dark liquid was poured into everybody's cups. Sidney took a cautious sip, and was pleasantly surprised. This is quite refreshing. A good balance between tart and sweet. It obviously contains alcohol, but it isn't very strong. He turned to Elisa and said, "This tastes like a really fruity beer, but a lot better."
"I've never tasted beer. As you can imagine, it wasn't served in the orphanage. This one is a good batch, though." She took another sip. "It's made out of blackberries and blueberries and some wild honey. We've been experimenting with different combinations of fruits and fermentation times. I got the idea out of an old book I found here at the farmhouse, and it turns out the Ravens make something very similar."
The firelight flickered, making Elisa's hair look like red gold. Her cheeks glowed and her eyes shone with peaceful satisfaction after a long day spent out in the sun. Sidney thought of his report, and Chuck Winthrop, and the Committee of Population Control that was probably gathering even now to discuss the post-War reproductive decrees, but it all seemed surreal compared to the crackling fire, the cup of sweet, fruity brew in front of him, and the girl next to him. His elbow brushed slightly against Elisa's at the crowded table. She did not move away.
As the evening rolled on, things got merrier. The children, well-fed and drowsy, were put to bed. Another barrel of the fruity mead was rolled out. Several people took out their guitars and began to play and sing. Frank and Holly, who were only twelve and sat behind school desks just a few short months ago, were drinking and laughing with the older ones. Tom started to caper in front of the fireplace, encouraged by much laughing and clapping, and soon was joined by several more dancers. There was not much rhythm, perhaps, but there was a lot of joy in the freshly built log hall in the middle of nowhere.
Sidney looked at Elisa's profile. A wistful smile played on her lips as she watched the dancers.
"You don't dance?" he asked, already knowing what the answer would be, and why.
She shook her head. "No, never. For someone like me, walking is tricky enough. I love the music, though, and watching the others. We haven't had such an evening in a long time."
"I never dance either, and I have nothing like your excuse. Just no sense of rhythm. I never know when to put one foot in front of the other."
Outside, an owl was hooting. Someone threw open the shutters and Sidney saw a bright, silvery half-moon rising in the inky black sky. After the War, the Boundary was a necessary measure. It protected us. It gave us security. But as the years go by, the Boundary and the White Tower and all the Decrees make it feel more and more like a prison.
20
________________
____________
________
Rebecca pulled out the crumpled bit of paper from her handbag and took another look at it, just to make sure. Monument Square, 283. There was nothing remarkable about the place. It was identical to hundreds of other dreary, strictly planned squares that erupted all over the Urban Islands in the first decade after the War. The buildings here housed middle-of-the-road, ordinary people who could never imagine the kind of conspiracy taking place right now behind their bleak walls.
The elevator was so small Rebecca laughed at the peeling sign which proudly announced the contraption could hold four average-sized people. It rattled and shook so much she half-expected to be stuck, and kept her finger poised on the emergency button. Finally, with one last great rattle, the doors opened and she gratefully stepped out onto the landing.
Halfway down the hall, she found 'Anderson' on a door's name plaque, rang the doorbell, and chirped the phrase Kate, who was used to knocking on strangers' doors, said was most likely to get people to open. "Hello! I'm here about the local community center charity event."
The door opened a crack and Rebecca caught a glimpse of Thelma's tired face before her eyes saucered with recognition. She tried to shut the door, but Rebecca's foot was quicker. "Shall I call the police?"
"Please," Thelma whispered, with a nervous glance down the empty hall. "I don't want a scandal."
"Then I'm afraid you'll have to let me in."
With a mixture of reluctance and resignation, Thelma opened the door just enough to let Rebecca step into a tiny entrance hall, beyond which she could see the tidy little kitchen and a neatly arranged living room with squashy armchairs and a vase of artificial flowers on a low table covered by a crocheted mat.
She looked confused, like she just woke from a dream, or nightmare. "You'll have to excuse me. I haven't been feeling very well these past few days, and the apartment is a mess, and…"
"Mrs. Anderson. There's no use denying what you did. Nobody but you had unlimited access to all Professor Keller's documents. Parts of a recently updated file were removed and replaced…out of order. What do you have to say to that?"
Thelma swayed slightly and licked her lips. "But…but Professor Keller never looks at the papers. They're only for record-keeping. He only works on the computer. I don't…"
"Well Professor Keller did look through the papers. Do you confess that you copied his private records?"
Thelma walked a few steps and collapsed into one of the armchairs, which made a protesting squeak under her ample rump. "You don't know the kind of pressure that was put on me," she whispered, shaking her head. "I was stalked, I was threatened…"
"You were bribed." Rebecca's sharp tone and hard gaze offered no mercy.
Thelma's eyes filled with tears. "My husband is very ill. Paying for private treatments ahead of the waiting list had sapped nearly all our savings. I…yes, we needed the money. What would you do if you were me?"
Rebecca did not stop to consider this possibility.
"Tell me exactly what you did. If we find you left out anything, the police will be here minutes later. Understand?"
With a nod, Thelma said, "The Professor had a meeting that was supposed to last an hour or two. I got the folder and removed the pages to scan them." She grunted. "I was so nervous I must have put them on top of each other face up instead of face down." A sigh accompanied her shaking head. "I just finished scanning the last one when the phone rang. He said he was coming right down to get a report and wanted me to pull it and have it ready for him so I hurried to put the pages in the folder and put it back on the shelf. After he left again, I zipped up all the scans using the file name and password he gave me."
"What was the name and password?"
She shrugged. "The name was surprise-party.zip but the password was very long. All random characters. All I can say for sure is it started with a 't'. After that, I emailed it where he said to and deleted the file and the scans."
Rebecca pulled a small notebook and pen from her purse. "Write down his name and the email address."
As Thelma handed back the pen and pad, she said, "That's the name and email he gave me. It might be an alias." When Rebecca shook her head, she swallowed and said in a hushed voice. "I realize I've lost
my job. Is Professor Keller very angry with me?"
Rebecca's glare made her cringe. "I'm afraid it's a lot more serious than that," she said and turned to leave.
As the door closed behind her, she heard, "Please tell him I'm so sorry."
Rebecca checked her watch when her stomach rumbled as she stepped out to the elevator. I should be home getting dinner ready. A few seconds later, she opened the door and could manage only a wan smile when the Professor looked up from his desk.
"Thelma confessed and I have a name," she said. "She said it was probably an alias and she was right. It's not in the public database." She realized he looked as grim as she felt. "Are you okay?"
Keller could not quite manage a smile. "I'm fine. For now. I still have a small supply of NOAGE. Enough to settle all my affairs with leisure. But we must find the man if we want to prevent a disaster."
"But how? I have no legal authority, no access to police records or government databases. I have no way to find him." She walked to the window and stared into space for a minute. "Unless…"
"Unless what?"
"Not what. Who." She sat on the chair next to his desk and laid a hand on his arm. "There is no way we can resolve this on our own. We need someone with…skills we don't have. I don't know anyone like that, but I know someone who might, someone I can trust."
"Someone you can trust." The professor's head shook. "I hope to God that's so."
"Vincent Legrand?" Daniel squinted at her. "Now there's an alias if I ever heard one."
Rebecca nodded. "He's not in the public database, though he must live somewhere in the Island, which means he must rent or own under a different name."
"Changing identities and locations isn't that easy anymore," Daniel said. "Everyone who moves between the Islands is tracked, and abroad there are only a few cities untouched by the War. Though I suppose if he stayed within the Island he might be able to use different names. Still, I think it would be difficult."