Alexandra smiled and hugged her friend. “I surely hope you get to see your daughter again, Santino. If nothing else, it means we got all the way through Brazil - alive.”
“We made good time,” Benjamin said. “This part of the freeway seems pretty intact. Hopefully, our luck holds into South America.”
“If not, Santino has some tricks up his sleeve to keep us moving in the right direction,” Koneh said.
Alexandra nodded and said, “Excuse me for a moment.”
Like a gargoyle overlooking the street, Erzulie perched atop the burned-out shell of a bus. Her eyes scanned the sky for danger. All that remained of her armor was an arm piece, evidence of the battles Erzulie had fought in service to Alexandra and her journey to Eden. Her tattered white dress fluttered in the wind. If Erzulie suffered wounds from their previous encounter, none remained on her perfect skin.
“Hello Lex, are you well?” Erzulie said.
“Funny,” Alexandra said, “I was going to ask you the same thing.”
“You need not worry for me.”
Alexandra climbed to where Erzulie perched and sat next to her companion. “That’s the thing about friendship,” Alexandra said, “I will always worry.”
“Friendship?”
Chuckling, Alexandra said, “Yeah sistah, you’re my friend.”
“I am your servant,” Erzulie said, a correcting tone in her voice. “I don’t understand why you think-“
“Thank you,” Alexandra said as she touched Erzulie’s arm, “you continue to put yourself in harm’s way and though I worry for you, I am grateful.”
“It is my duty.”
“Just be careful, okay?”
Erzulie smiled and said, “You always say the same thing. You don’t need to repeat your orders. I understood them the first time.”
“Okay,” Alexandra said, returning the smile. “I just don’t want you to forget, that’s all.”
“I cannot forget. My memory is more than adequate to store more orders than you are capable of giving over your brief lifetime.”
Alexandra laughed. “Well, that’s comforting.”
“I’m glad you think so.”
“Do you think…?” Alexandra’s question was cut short by Benjamin, who waved to Alexandra.
“Looks like we’re moving out,” Erzulie said as she stood and stretched her black, feathery wings.
“Yeah,” Alexandra said, “just be-”
“Careful. I know.”
After several days of uneventful travel with Santino at the wheel again, the car stopped at a large rise in the freeway. The asphalt lifted into the air forming a high bridge above the burnt treetops.
“What’s this?” Alexandra asked.
Nicole shielded her eyes from a sun that wasn’t in the sky and said, “Wow. How high do you think it goes?”
“They call it the Gran Cielo here in Brazil,” Koneh said as he joined the group outside the station wagon. “The American company who built it during the failed oil rush dubbed it the Great Flyover. It serves as a bridge over four hundred miles of forest and jungle. Lucky for us, it leads right to Brasilia.”
“Do you think it’s all intact?” Alexandra asked.
“It would save us a ton of time if it is,” Koneh said.
Benjamin rubbed his chin and said, “Yeah, that’s a lot of jungle to cover if we can’t drive over or through it.”
“What do you think Santino?” Koneh asked. “You’ve probably driven on this thing more than anyone else.”
Santino shrugged and said, “The Gran Cielo is muy grande, muy strong.”
“Well,” Koneh said, “this part looks okay. All we can hope is the rest survived the quake just as well.”
“Maybe we should make camp,” Alexandra said. “I know it’s not time yet, but Santino looks exhausted and maybe we should sleep on this one.”
Koneh nodded. “Very well.”
After unpacking some supplies, the group settled into camp.
“It’s just so empty,” Nicole said as Alexandra joined her and Holly for an MRE ration.
“What’s empty?” Alexandra asked.
“Everything,” Nicole said, “the freeway, all those towns we passed. You’d think we’d come across some people.”
With Delia tucked under one arm, Holly ate a rare meal. The infant never left Holly’s side and Alexandra wondered if the behavior was normal. Now that she thought about it, nobody else had held the child.
“How does it feel?” Alexandra asked. “To be a mother for almost a week now?”
She smiled weakly but didn’t meet Alexandra’s eyes. “Oh, great,” Holly said.
“Mind if I hold her?” Alexandra asked.
Holly glanced in her direction and said, “She’s sleeping now. Maybe later.”
Alexandra nodded and studied her. Without proper postnatal medical care, she looked awful. Her skin was red in some areas and grayish-yellow in others. Though she didn’t complain, she made frequent trips out of sight. Alexandra could only guess from the bloody rags that Holly was in much pain and discomfort.
“Okay girls, I’m going to go talk shop with Koneh. Get some rest,” Alexandra said.
After a few minutes, she found Koneh and Erzulie talking near some rubble on the side of the freeway. Like so many times in the past, Alexandra felt she was barging into a private conversation.
“What’s going on?” Koneh asked as he peered at Alexandra from beneath his hood. If there wasn’t anything romantic between Erzulie and Koneh, why did her heart skip every time she saw them together? Why did she care if they were together? Did she really feel something for him?
“Nothing… I just… Have you seen Holly?” Alexandra said.
“Yes,” Koneh said, “she’s not doing too well.”
“Can’t you help her?”
Koneh shook his head. “I’m not a doctor. Plus, she won’t let me near her or her baby.”
“Do you find her behavior odd?” Alexandra asked.
Koneh shrugged and said, “Could be the onset of the infection, the loss of her husband, the rough trip. Pick a catastrophe.”
“She won’t let anyone hold Delia.”
“I’m not around babies much,” Koneh said. “You think there’s something wrong with her mentally?”
She reached for her hair again, but found only the small ponytail. She decided she needed a new nervous habit. “I wish I knew. Something’s not right, though,” Alexandra said.
“Maybe it is too much for her,” Erzulie said.
Alexandra sighed. “I think it’s too much for me.”
“I’ll let you two talk,” Erzulie said.
“You don’t need to-” Alexandra started, but the angel was gone before she could finish.
Alexandra held Koneh’s gaze for a moment before he looked away. What was he thinking? What did he feel? She didn’t know how to ask these questions.
“How’s your arm?” she asked, choosing the easy road for the moment.
“Fine,” he said, returning his piercing eyes to her. “How’s yours?”
“Wrapped and healing well,” she said.
Koneh traced his finger along his cheek. “And the cheek? That one looks nasty.”
Alexandra reflexively touched her own cheek. “I disinfected it with an alcohol wipe. It still stings.”
Koneh smiled. “You’re starting a collection.”
“Of wounds?” Alexandra nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Though she enjoyed comparing scars with Koneh, Alexandra returned to business. “What do you think about the Flyover?” she asked.
“Erzulie scouted ahead and she said it’s intact.”
“Good,” Alexandra said as she attempted to interpret his face. He remained an unreadable wall.
“You want to ask me something,” he stated.
“Yes,” she said, hesitating. Was she so transparent? “I… What did you mean before when you said you might not make it to the end with me? Do you..?”
K
oneh waved his hand. “I’m just feeling… Old. Tired. I thought I was ready for this ordeal, but maybe I was wrong. I should’ve been able to protect you at the cruise ship. I’m sorry.”
“Why is everyone apologizing to me?” she said. “What you did out there… Well, I’m still trying to figure it out. I can only imagine things would have been worse if you weren’t here, protecting us all.”
“Are you sure about that?” he asked. “What if Marco was right? What if I plan to betray you? Have you considered that possibility yet?”
“I think you could’ve done anything you wanted with me by now,” she said, unsure why he would open this topic.
“What if I’m waiting until we reach Eden?” he said. “Certainly a willing hostage is easier to transport than a reluctant one.”
Alexandra hesitated. What if that was his plan? She smiled and said, “Then why would you tell me now and put me on my guard?”
He grinned. “Maybe I’m an evil genius. I figured I could put you off balance, throw you off until I can spring my trap.”
She studied his face for a moment, attempting to unravel his mystery. “No,” she said, “I don’t think that is your plan. You’re not that clever.”
Koneh huffed and looked away. “Don’t underestimate me. I’m capable of awful things.”
“Really?” she said, scooting closer to him. She was hopelessly drawn to his mystery, no matter how dangerous that became for her. “What sort of awful things?”
He returned his eyes to her and said, “The way you look at me… You mustn’t. I’m not… This isn’t allowed.”
Alexandra reached towards his face and traced his jaw with the back of her hand. “You said that before,” she whispered. “I just want to be closer to you, get to know you better. Is that so terrible?”
He intercepted her hand and gently pushed it aside. He closed his eyes and appeared to be embattled with some internal struggle. After a few moments, he opened his eyes and said, “I must not falter. When you say these things, when you touch me-”
He stood and turned his back to her. “You should focus on your task,” he said. “And I on mine.”
Without another word, he returned to the camp.
Alexandra was now certain of her feelings. Sure, Koneh protected her like he was her own personal knight, but her heart had moved beyond infatuation. She cared for him in a way she hadn’t known before the quake. She sensed that he harbored feelings as well, but he restrained himself. Perhaps he had more self-control than she did?
“That’s no surprise, Lex,” she said to herself.
She put her hands in her fatigue pockets and meandered back to the camp. Benjamin’s voice carried across the freeway.
“Oh yeah!”
“Bueno!”
“You lost it!” Benjamin said.
Santino crouched in the front section of a ruined pickup. Benjamin leaned on the frame and turned to Alexandra as she approached.
“We think we got it working,” Benjamin said.
“Got what working?”
Santino pointed to the dashboard. “El radio.”
“We tried the radio in the rig and the station wagon,” Alexandra said. “Nothing’s coming through.”
Benjamin smiled and said, “This is a satellite radio.”
“Oh!”
“There it is!” Benjamin said as Santino scanned the stations and stopped.
A crackling voice played through the one working speaker on the dash.
“…pal city forty-one… fift… orth. Twelve, twenty-seven east. Medit… way for African survivo… Zagreb pen… points east. Avoid Berlin and north… of… der… radiation… repeat in… minutes… may God… you.”
The speaker went silent.
“That was better than before,” Benjamin said. “Keep trying the other stations!”
Alexandra looked to the sky and said, “Satellite, huh?”
“Makes sense,” Benjamin said. “But we had one at the base and all we ever heard was a dead line.”
“Something new then?” Alexandra asked.
The soldier nodded, “And they’re tapping into several stations. Seems to be the same message though.”
Alexandra rejoined the group while Benjamin and Santino fiddled with the radio.
“The world may not be so empty after all,” Alexandra said as she sat next to Nicole.
“What do you mean?” Nicole asked.
“Santino and Benjamin found a message on that satellite radio over there.”
Everyone except Holly congregated at the ruined truck and its working satellite radio. The message came through several more times, but not as clear as the time Alexandra heard it.
“Hard to tell what the intent of that message is, but the latitude and longitude coordinates for Rome were in there,” Koneh said, pointing at the dashboard.
“And they mentioned Berlin,” Benjamin said.
“And God,” Nicole said.
“Who do you think they are?” Alexandra asked, though she didn’t expect an answer.
After a few hours of silence on the satellite radio, the group settled down for the night. The pavement offered no relief to Alexandra’s throbbing bones, but sleep was a welcome companion.
She soon found herself in a dense jungle, the sound of life teemed all around her. Sunlight streamed through the treetops and onto the jungle floor in vibrant streaks. The white-haired woman knelt next to a small brook.
Another dream.
“I know where you are going,” the old woman said as she rose and turned towards her. “You must tell me your intentions once you reach that accursed place.”
As the crone approached, Alexandra struggled to remain focused on her thoughts and surroundings. What should she tell the old woman? What should she hold back?
“I will tell you,” Alexandra said, “but I need to know something first.”
The old woman stopped and glared into her eyes. “You are an interesting one,” she said, “not at all like I expected. However, do not assume I must answer to the likes of you. The taint of Eden must be purged from the land. Only then can the Earth begin to heal. Only then will the filth of Elah be forever gone from this world.”
Taken aback by the crone’s words, Alexandra said, “You want Eden destroyed?”
The white-haired woman pointed a bony finger at Alexandra and said, “You, Child, have the power to either destroy or revive Eden. Tell me your intentions!”
Chapter 24
Alexandra awoke and noticed the camp was still quiet. Benjamin, Holly, Santino and Nicole all slept either on the ground or in a nearby disabled vehicle. The full darkness in the sky told her that nighttime was still in control. After her eyes adjusted, she spotted Koneh crouched beside an overturned oil rig. Alexandra stretched her weary limbs and rose to her feet.
“Couldn’t sleep?” Koneh asked.
“I’ve been having some strange dreams.”
“Is that so?”
Alexandra sensed something in his tone and said, “You know something of my dreams, don’t you.”
“From what I understand, you are glimpsing the future.”
“I dunno,” she said. “Sometimes, maybe… But, I think there’s more-”
Koneh raised his hand and said, “I don’t want to know.”
Confused, she said, “Why not? Maybe we can figure some stuff out together.”
He shook his head. “I spent much of my life seeking the future and it has brought me pain and disappointment. Please, if you have seen anything, I don’t want to know about it.”
“If you really think I’m seeing the future-”
“No, I don’t want to know.”
Alexandra studied him for a few moments before allowing the subject to drop. “Fair enough,” she said, “we can talk about something else.”
Koneh nodded and returned his gaze to the dark horizon. When Alexandra first met the scarred man she thought him insane and callous. Now, after almost two months in the wasteland, she felt c
onnected to him in many ways. He was her protector. He was full of knowledge and experience. He cared for Erzulie in a way that made Alexandra’s heart yearn. Did he feel the same about her?
The love of a companion was something Alexandra thought she’d get around to someday in her busy lawyer’s life. Excuses to avoid commitments came easy when she worked seventy hours a week. Now, she realized she missed something important. Would she ever feel the comfort and completeness of someone else’s love?
Alexandra thought she found something else in Father Richard Callahan. He filled yet another hole in her life. The void that had been left by never knowing her father. Then, as soon as she realized how wonderful a father could be, Richard was taken away from her.
“I miss him,” Alexandra said.
Without turning, Koneh said, “He was a good man. In some ways, I envy him.”
“How do you mean?”
“Well, he doesn’t have to worry about whether we will run out of food, water, gas or companions. He’s feeling no pain right now.”
Alexandra wiped a tear from her eye and smiled. “I can almost hear him arguing with you over the best way to deliver the baby. That would have been fun to watch.”
Koneh chuckled. “Father Callahan always had an opinion and he wasn’t afraid to voice it.”
“He had faith right to the end,” Alexandra said as she struggled with the memory of the battle. “I found him in Holly’s tent warding off those demons. He stood his ground. Then I asked him to help Benjamin and Santino. I sent him-”
Koneh turned to her and said, “Listen. That wasn’t your fault.”
Now, the tears came. “It was my fault.”
She closed her eyes and pulled her knees under her chin. Nothing Koneh said could change what happened. Alexandra caused the death of her friend. Father Callahan deserved better than a shallow grave at the base of a beached cruise ship.
Sobbing, she buried her head in her arms and succumbed to the wave of grief and guilt. She couldn’t remember when it happened, but Koneh held her as she cried. She found comfort again in his arms, relaxing long enough to find a sliver of peace.
“You will see him again,” Koneh said.
Alexandra lifted her tear-streaked face. The weight of her task again threatened to crush her. How could she open Eden? She didn’t even know where she was going. Fear, uncertainty, anger and hopelessness threatened to overtake her. However, she commanded her mind to focus so she could work everything out. Though she knew she lied to herself, she wiped the tears from her face like they were the last tears she would shed.
Eden (Eden Saga) Page 24