Little by little my fellow concubines and I start to take stock in the fascinating world around us. The journey across meadows, over hills and through forests abounding with creatures of all shapes and sizes sparks our interest. Sometimes I feel sorry for Link and an older enforcer I come to know as Rhett, who are inundated with question after question all day, until finally exhaustion claims our desire to learn about all we’ve seen. The land, it appears, has either not been affected by the apocalypse, recovered from the man-made disaster, or it has not happened at all, like Stanley’s theory.
There are a few things that take even Link and Rhett by surprise on our journey. For example, the second day we come across a small group of hairy creatures resembling humans in a way. In their eyes is a hint of extreme intelligence despite their primitive movements. They don’t seem at all concerned about us and in fact almost mimic our movements and gestures. Link’s exclamation of surprise frightens us at first until we see he is unafraid. He’s adamant that such creatures, which he calls apes, are not native to America and only found in something called a zoo before the apocalypse. It takes him the rest of the afternoon to explain what a zoo is, and to describe with the help of Stanley and Rhett the likes of the animals contained in such a place.
To us, this America is paradise. It is like nothing and everything we have ever heard and dreamed of. Deer, moose, elk, rabbits, squirrels, chipmunks, skunks, foxes, birds and insects abound, each one more fascinating that the last. I particularly delight in enticing twitchy little squirrels to perch on my hand a take the few juicy berries I save. Their bulging little cheeks as they scamper away makes me giggle. Some of the girls are terrified by all creatures, but as the days go by they learn not to fear them so much. The nights are the worst. The howls of something called coyotes and wolves is very unnerving, more so even than the odd rustling in the bushes we can’t identify as we drift off into a uneasy slumber, our bellies full of roasted meat thanks to Link. Of course the idea the Emperor’s enforcers might ambush us at any time is the worst fear of all.
* * *
I’m the last to bathe in a gentle eddy of a large river when I spy Sol slip down to the water’s edge. Crossing an arm over my breasts, I tread water as he approaches. Though the sun is almost below the horizon there’s still enough light to allow him to see my form beneath the surface.
With a grin and a look over his shoulder, he sits on a boulder and pulls off his boots. “We haven’t had much time to ourselves lately.”
Cocking my head, I drink in his lean muscled form as he strips down to his underwear. “I’ve been exhausted each night when we stop to eat and rest.”
“You’ve kept up well and been a good source of encouragement to the others.”
My cheeks heat at his praise despite the coolness of the water. “I got them into this and I feel like I have to put on a brave face.” Nodding he slips into the water and swims out to me. When he encircles my waist with his arms I melt into him. “What is going to happen to us, Sol? Are we going to wander the country lost and alone for the rest of our days?”
“Link is searching for something.”
His explanation puzzles me. “What?”
“He thinks there are still people out here, maybe some survived and didn’t retreat to Imram.”
“What do you think?”
Sol ponders the heavens for a moment before answering, “I don’t know.” He gathers me tight. “I don’t want to talk about it, Ocean, I just want to be with you. You are enough for me.”
Held secure against his chest I believe him, but is he enough for me? Can I live without my family? Without ever knowing what will become of them? The joys of all the new things I see each day are tempered by the thought of how much my little brother Petie is missing.
When the water begins to get too cold we climb back onto the bank and make love for the first time under the real stars.
Later, back at the campfire we warm ourselves by the heat of the flickering flames.
Ashley looks up from her spot on the far side nursing her scabby feet. “I can’t run anymore. I just want a soft bed.”
Danika glances at Link. “Why are we still walking all day? The emperor’s men lost our trail days ago.”
Link adds another piece of wood to the fire. “Once they realize they lost us they will back track and eventually find it again.”
Tracy shakes her head. “They’ll go back to Imram, I mean why would they bother to follow us this far?”
“The emperor will follow us to the end of the earth, Tracy, we are his means to an end. Without the concubines he looks like a tyrant slaying his own people. As long as he has you he can rid himself of the official’s wives and keep a tight rein on the people.” Link settles back against a rock and stares into the fire.
“The emperor will just harvest another group of concubines,” I point out with little conviction.
Sol speaks up, “No, he won’t. By losing us he has lost his iron control over Imram. People will know of our escape and more will try for freedom. Besides, I doubt they would stand for another concubine harvest, they would revolt first.”
“But how long can we run?” Danika sighs. “We’re tired and footsore. We can’t keep on like this forever.”
“We’ll run until we are safe.” Link scans the group around the fire.
“When will that be?” another girl asks.
Link looks her in the eye. “When we find my father.”
Silence reigns, only the crackling and popping of the logs breaking the stunned quiet. A moment later chaos ensues.
“Your father?”
“You’re leading us on a wild goose chase!”
“There were no survivors.”
“Quiet!” Sol raises his hands to gain everyone’s attention. When everyone quiets he continues, “The way I see it, we haven’t yet put enough distance between us and Imram. Whether or not Link believes his father is still out there somewhere is not something to fight about. We need to keep moving until we are far enough away and find a place to build new lives.”
Ashley scrambles to her feet. “How are we going to do that? How do we start new lives? With what? We have no shelter, no food, no clothes, nothing!”
Danika nods. “We’ll die out here. We can’t survive without the necessities we’ve had all our lives.”
Sol throws up his hands. “We have to learn to live off the land like our ancestors did. Do you want to just sit here and wait for the enforcers to come and snuff out our lives?”
Tracy shrugs. “Death by their hands would be better than a slow death by starvation and the elements.”
I get to my feet, knowing I have to speak now to try and keep them united. “Stop! Fighting isn’t going to solve anything. We have to stay together, we’ve come too far to just sit here and wait to die. Link knows how to live out here. I say we follow him, find a place to start our own community and try to learn the skills we need to survive.”
“And why should we listen to you? Because you’re the so called messiah?” a tall brunette spits with a scowl.
“I’m not the messiah, I’m just Ocean. I never pretended to be this savior everyone is looking for.” I look to Sol for help.
His mouth opens, but before he can speak, lightning forks across the sky followed by a rumble of thunder that shakes the ground. In an instant it starts to pour. Shrieking, we dart for cover under the lowest hanging boughs of the trees as the fire sputters and goes out. The discussion is over, at least for the meanwhile as we huddle in a pathetic attempt to stay dry.
In misery, I crouch with Sol under the tent of a large fir tree. Did we flee Imram only to die out here? Am I wrong to desire freedom? Does it come at the price of death? “Why do they call me this messiah, Sol? I never asked to be it. I never even heard that stupid legend before you told me. I just wanted to be free, free to marry you.”
“It doesn’t matter. We are together now and we will survive, I promise.” Sol clutches my hand tight to his chest while the
rain trickles between the boughs and soaks us to the bone.
“I don’t think you know what you promise, Sol.”
* * *
By morning when the rain stops, the mood of our little bunch of concubines and ex-enforcers hasn’t improved much. Damp, stiff and cold we break camp and trek further from our past. There is little talk as our sullen bunch journeys along a deer path through the woods. When we finally emerge from the forest into the sun of a large meadow, stomachs are rumbling and we are ready to stop for a rest. A few men, including Link, head out to find game to snare for a meal while the rest of us sprawl in the grass trying to dry our damp clothing.
Lying on my back, I close my eyes, savoring the sun warming my limbs. I try not to think about our predicament, only concentrate on the things around me. Something buzzes around my head and I open one eye to spy a fat black and yellow bug. After bobbing up and down a couple times, it lands on a white flower with a yellow centre. Birds twittered here and there, their songs mingling with the buzzing of insects and the gentle whisper of breeze through the trees. A soft rumble draws my attention. A quick scan of the sky for any clouds reveals not a single fluffy one dotting the brilliant blue above. Little by little, the rumbling increases until I swear the ground is vibrating beneath. Sitting up, I look around. A strange greyish brown cloud billows from the ground in the distance. Shading my eyes to see, I get to my feet. The strange phenomenon becomes larger and larger, the rumbling louder and louder.
Sol sits up. “What’s that noise?”
“There,” I point to the clouds through which I can now make out dark shapes. “What is it?”
He gets to his feet and the others begin to take notice.
The vibration and noise became too loud to talk over as the shapes evolve into four legged forms. Excitement courses through my veins. I know what these are and I’m astonished to finally see my dream in the flesh. “Sol! It’s horses, a whole bunch of horses!”
The herd crests the small ridge and careen across the meadow in our direction, birds and other small animals scurrying out of the grass before them. The awesome splendor takes my breath away and I stand rooted to the spot as the others flee for the safety of the trees. The wave of many colored bodies thunder across the grass and gallop past on either side. It is the greatest moment of my life. Standing amid the ground shaking assault, their high pitched whinnies making me laugh, neither afraid, nor wanting to flee from their power, I’m in awe. Dirt and turf spatter me. I can’t resist holding out my hands as they rush by, my fingers grazing their sweat dampened hides. My laughter mixes with that of their calls as tears flow unchecked down my checks. I could die now and be happy. Pivoting I follow their retreat, unwilling to take my eyes from them lest it all is a dream as the last spotted stragglers trickle by in the dust cloud. The rumble of their hooves and the dirt stirred up from them wanes and dissipates.
“Ocean!”
I give Sol a big cheesy grin as he sprints from the safety of the trees. “Did you see that? Did you see that! It was amazing, Sol. It was incredible. All those horses! I’ve dreamed of this moment every night of my life.”
“Why didn’t you run for the trees? You could have been killed!” Sol skids to a stop and shakes me.
“I wasn’t afraid. I never thought I would see a real herd of horses. I wasn’t dreaming, was I Sol?”
He laughs and hugs me to him. “No, you weren’t dreaming.”
Laughing with him, tears of awe and joy flowing freely down my cheeks I finally feel alive.
Sol’s eyes widen as he stares over my head. “Don’t move.”
“What is it, more horses?” Puzzled I spin around to see what he is looking at.
A few yards from us crouches a large orange beast with black stripes. It pants, mouth hanging open to show case a wicked looking set of yellow fangs. Eerie golden eyes focus on us in an unblinking stare. I’ve seen one of these on my tablet before.
Griping Sol’s arm I gasp. “Is that what I think it is?”
“Yes,” he hisses.
Sharp claws of dread wrap around me and I fight to keep calm. The big cat growls and I smother my terrified cry.
“Don’t move, Ocean.”
“Trust me, I couldn’t move if I wanted to,” I whisper, frozen in place.
A shot rings out and I jump as the cat flinches and then falls to the ground.
Link jogs out from the shade of a nearby tree with his gun in his hands. “Are you all right?”
“We’re fine.” Sol leaves my side and he and Link approach the still animal. After poking it with the muzzle of the gun to be sure it’s dead, they crouch before it. “What is a Siberian tiger doing in the middle of an American meadow?”
“Maybe the animals escaped the zoos during the evacuation.” Link spreads the giant paws of the beast. “This one is not very old, I’d say only four or five, so they must be repopulating on their own. If the animals escaped captivity and repopulated we could be in danger out here. Dealing with a few native species is one thing, but these are animals none of us will have any experience with.”
I can’t resist a closer look and kneel beside it as the rest of the group emerges from the trees and gathers around. “Did you have to kill it?”
Link scowls. “Would you have rather become its dinner?”
I shiver at the thought as I stroke the soft orange and black fur. “I guess not. Still, it seems a shame to kill such a beautiful creature.”
He snorts. “You better get used to the idea, Ocean, out here it is kill or be killed if we want to survive.”
Chapter Twenty-nine
Turning the tiger claw around in my fingers, I climb the rise. Is Link right? Is every step we take dangerous? Up until now our trek seemed more of an exhausting adventure, not a dangerous journey. So far Link has provided meager amounts of game and berries to sustain us. Though we’re still hungry, we aren’t starving thanks to him, but the fact remains we can’t exist on just Link’s knowledge. The days are hot, the nights so cold we huddle together for what little warmth we can and the bone chilling rains make things miserable. We aren’t living, just existing. With a frown I peer over my shoulder at the men behind scanning the area as we walk for any type of threat. How long before the enforcers, or something worse gets us?
“What’s the matter?”
I glance at Sol. “Nothing, why do you ask?”
“You’re biting your lip. You always do that when you’re upset about something.”
“I just wish I had known better what I was getting into.”
He comes to a sudden halt and faces me. “Are you having second thoughts? It is kind of late for those now, you know.”
“No.” I smile at him. “It just takes a little getting used to the idea there are things out here that want to kill you, besides enforcers.”
Sol cracks a smile. “I know what you mean. Still, the danger we don’t know is better than the one we do, isn’t it?”
“I guess.” I continue walking with Sol alongside. “It’s just a lot to take in in so short a time, the ocean, horses, tigers... I mean I dreamed of all these things, but I never really thought I would live to see them. I suppose it’s different for Dr. White, his wife and the men who are older and vividly remember the world as it once was.”
“Probably.” Sol takes my hand in his. “Ours will be a story for forever, won’t it?”
A giggle escapes me at the reference to his song. “If we survive it. You should write a song about it.”
“I just might do that.” Humming, he strolls on ahead to take the scouting watch.
A few moments later the first scout is back. He runs to Dr. White and gestures over the rise he just came down. Curious, I hurry to catch up and hear what is being said.
“...just over the rise.”
“What is going on?”
Dr. White turns with a smile. “There is a homestead just over the rise.”
“A house?”
He nods. “Come on, if Link is right ther
e will be people there.”
We jog up the slope as a group and come to a halt at the top. A ranch spreads across the plains below. Close to a log house dozens of horses graze in a small pasture. Beyond that a hundred reddish brown cattle scatter across a meadow which follows the bend of a wide river.
There is something familiar about the scene, but I can’t place it. “Are there really people down there?”
Dr. White rests a hand on my shoulder. “There’s only one way to find out.”
Excitement quickening our steps we make our way down the incline. One of the enforcers spreads the barbed wire fence for the rest to crawl through and then squeezes through himself when we are all across. As we tread through the pasture, the horses look up and whinny. A small grey one throws up his head and trots over. A couple of the girls cower with a small cry, but I hold out my hand. The animal stretches out its neck and sniffs my fingers. Gently I stroke its velvety nose and look into the soft brown eyes. A tarnished brass name plate on the halter claims my attention. This can’t be happening. It’s too surreal. “He won’t hurt you.”
“Who goes there?”
Everyone turns to an elderly man holding a double barreled shot gun on the front porch of the house.
“Come to steal my horses, have you?” He lifts the weapon and trains it on Sol who is at the head of our party.
Sol raises his hands. “No sir, we are from Imram. We fled the city and are looking for survivors of the apocalypse.”
The man’s eyes narrow. “I never heard of this Imram place. The apocalypse happened years ago. Why are you just now looking for survivors?”
Dr. White steps forward. “Have you lived here long?”
“Of course I have, this place has been in my family for generations, over one hundred years in fact.”
“Then, you survived the apocalypse?”
“I sure have.” He glances at the women. “Why are you dressed so funny?”
The Emperor's Concubine Page 18