The Changing Earth Series (Book 2): Without Land

by Hathaway, Sara F.

  She amused Sergeant Walker. Most people in this camp had only known her as a fireball full of piss and vinegar. She was angry at the world and ready to take it on to protect her family. To see this other side, ready to comply, full of pride in her purpose, was a rare treat.

  “Perhaps you two would like to discuss this privately?” Sergeant Walker suggested. He wanted to remove some of the formalities.

  “Of course.” The manager, who had been listening in on their conversation, shuffled to attention. “They can use this office here.” He led them over to a nearby room, which was probably a broom closet at one time but was now fashioned with a desk and a lamp.

  Harold and Erika entered the tiny room, and as soon as the door clicked shut Harold was alight with questions.

  “Erika, what the heck is going on here? Why is Terrance all formal-acting? Rescue Recruit, how did that happen?” he stammered on and on.

  Erika was amused. She hadn’t seen him so riled up in a long time. He was a tall man that towered over her as he spoke. His strawberry-brown hair was mostly grey now and fluffed gently in the air as he ranted on. Looking into his light brown, almost hazel, eyes, she was reminded of his father. Henry had been so kind to Erika. He could instantly look into her soul and know her inner creature. She thanked God fiercely that he had been there to save her when she clung so desperately to life.

  Harold had calmed down now. He stopped pacing. “So, what is up?” he questioned, staring right at her.

  “Alex suggested to Mathew that it would be a good idea to recruit us all and let us go to Colorado. Mathew agreed!” Erika said with a gleam in her eye.

  “Then this is it?” Harold questioned slyly. They all had waited a long time for an opportunity to get away from this place.

  “Not exactly,” Erika said, looking down. “Mathew is keeping Daniel, Carmen and Crystal here,” she added quietly.

  “What? I thought you said the families.” Harold was not pleased at the thought of leaving anyone behind, especially his granddaughter. He, too, had experienced the sickening pain of seeing his family in life-threatening events far too often.

  “Mathew said it was his insurance policy to make sure we return,” Erika explained, holding his bewildered gaze.

  “Oh… this is good,” Harold gasped as he spun around, his hands pressed into his hips. He continued on in a voice of disbelief, “Have you talked to Vince yet? Because you know he’s not going to be happy about this.”

  “No, honestly, I haven’t. I know he’s gonna be pissed, Harold, I know okay?” Erika was not thrilled about the idea of leaving her baby boy here while they went two states away in a world that they knew quite well could be turned upside down at any time, but she had to see what was out there. She felt stuck between a rock and a hard place.

  “Do you think I’m real crazy about the idea of leaving my son behind? Of course I’m not, but I have to get out of here. I have to see what the world has become.” She lowered her voice. “We have to know what we are escaping into. We’ve been here for nine years. Who knows what it’s like out there? Vince will understand.”

  “And do you know what we’re going to do out there, Erika! Rescue mission, indeed!” He rolled his eyes at her. “We are going to round up more refugees and bring them back here, to this crap hole. They’re going in that cage over there to get assimilated.” He pointed his finger at the wall in the direction of the Welcome Warehouse.

  “You want to be a part of that, Erika?” Harold kept his finger in the direction of the warehouse and stared back at her. He had made a valid point.

  Erika paused for a moment. She was going to make a snappy response for whatever he had to say, but she hadn’t thought about getting to see the outside in that light before. She was all wrapped up in her own silly pride and the glorious notion of being some rescue superhero.

  “You didn’t even think of it, did ya?” Harold could see the reality settling into her expression. He shook his head at her and turned away.

  “They are going to end up there one way or another, Harold,” she tried to counter him in a logical way.

  “Oh, come on, Erika.” He couldn’t believe she was saying this was a good idea. She had been so influential in the notion of fighting the system so they could all stay together. She had ranted about the treatment of innocents. She had quoted Ben Franklin: “Liberty dies when freedom is given up for security.” She cursed the new government and their horrible system. Hell, she started that damn rebellion and gave them the excuse to build the “hot house.”

  “No, you come on, Harold!” Erika knew deep down that they needed to see outside of these gates, to know the lay of the land. Otherwise any escape attempt would be futile. She had to convince him somehow. “If we don’t do it, someone else will. This could be our last shot.” She lowered her voice again. “This could be our chance to devise a real strategy for freedom.”

  Harold was lost in thought. They had never been given such an opportunity in the past and if they denied it this time they might never have the chance again. Harold was a tech guy and an aging tech guy, at that. There was little call for his skills in a world with manual labor in high demand. His opportunities were scarce, and he was not going to spend the rest of his life here.

  “Okay, Erika…,” he said slowly. “I’ll tell Betsy and the kids to get ready. I’m game,” he said finally. Deep down, he couldn’t believe he was doing this.

  “Really? Okay,” Erika was so excited. She had expected a much bigger battle. “So, we are supposed to meet at 17:00 at Warehouse D. We have three weeks of training, then we’re headed to Colorado.”

  “You sure you know what you’re doing?” Harold asked one more time as he reached for the door handle.

  “Sure, I’m sure,” Erika replied and she hoped that was true.

  They left the little room and walked steadily down the corridor to where Sergeant Walker and Harold’s manager were waiting for them.

  “Recruit Moore, what decision has Mr. Duncan reached?” The sergeant questioned.

  “He’s coming,” Erika answered and then quickly remembered the new formalities, “sir.”

  “Excellent, and you have informed Recruit Duncan that he is to meet at 17:00 at Warehouse D?” Sergeant Walker questioned.

  “Yes, sir,” she replied.

  “Excellent. Rescue Recruit Duncan, I will see you and the other recruits of your family at 17:00 at Warehouse D,” Sergeant Walker declared formally to Harold and shook his hand.

  Erika, the sergeant and Harold left through the thick metal door. The wind whipped at their faces when they hit the dry air. The sand was dense in the air and scratched at their skin as it whipped by. Harold left to go find his wife, Betsy, and then track down his daughters, Jen and Kim, and his son, Rob.

  CHAPTER 14

  ERIKA AND SERGEANT Walker got into the jeep and drove off into a cloud of dirt. They were headed for the greenhouses. There they would find Vince and Greg. After her battle with Harold she was fearful of this conversation. She had been separated from Vince for three full months when the Great Quake happened. She and Vince had both felt the pain of separation and not knowing if the other lived or had died. It was not a feeling that was easily forgotten. Keeping the family united had kept them in this compound for nine years and they welcomed it, as long as they got to stay together.

  “It’s not going to be easy, is it?” Sergeant Walker questioned, breaking the silence.

  “No, it’s not, sir,” Erika replied quietly.

  “I lost my family in the East Coast floods after the quake. I just got back from Afghanistan and was spending some time with my friends in Kansas before I went home to see my folks. My dad was going in for surgery on his shoulder and I was going to surprise him when he got home from the hospital. I was supposed to leave the next morning to drive to Virginia when the quake hit. They loved living on the beach and watching the sun rise, bright and brilliant over the ocean. I bet they never even know what hit them.” Terrance had tears i
n his eyes.

  “Oh Terrance…I mean Sergeant Walker, I had no idea. I knew you were in the military before the quake but I didn’t know what happened to your folks. I’m sorry,” Erika felt bad for him, but she had heard so many of these stories over the years. There used to be a time when death was rare, but not anymore. She just thanked the good Lord above that her mom, husband and boys were safe and with her. “You know my story: The Lone Sacramento Survivor. Luckily, I found Vince, Dex and my mom but I had a father in Michigan and a brother in Canada. I don’t know what happened to them. I pray every day they are safe in some other camp somewhere or out there living it up, but who knows.” In their candid conversation, Erika had forgotten the formalities. “That’s exactly what scares Vince. His parents were in Washington and his brother was in Maine. He doesn’t talk about them anymore, but he has to wonder if they made it. We all know the reality of the situation, though,” Erika finished with tears in her eyes.

  “Well, Recruit Moore, here we are. Let’s go,” Sergeant Walker stated as he pulled the jeep to a stop in front of the main greenhouse building and jumped out.

  “Yes, sir!” Erika replied.

  They entered the air of the greenhouse. It was a mix of the wonderful fresh smell of plants in growth mixed with a chemical scent from the ingredients that were added to the water they were grown in. Vince was busy with a clipboard in hand discussing the vegetable production with another man. He immediately noticed Terrance walking in with Erika and rolled his eyes. He knew Erika was supposed to be working on the water line and immediately assumed some error in her judgment had brought them to him. He handed the man the clipboard and came over to see what was up.

  “Hello, Terrance,” he said to Sergeant Walker. Then he turned immediately to Erika. “What’s going on?”

  “Is Mr. Sherman around? Erika would like to discuss something with you,” Sergeant Walker replied.

  “Uh…yeah. He’s around here somewhere. Let me go find him.” Vince left to go track down Greg. Now he was really curious as to what was going on.

  “Thanks, Sergeant Walker,” Erika had noticed that he had used her first name and kept the formal “Rescue Recruit” title a secret for now.

  “I figured I’d let you tell him,” Terrance chuckled.

  “Well thanks…I think,” Erika replied.

  Vince returned with Greg. They had been chatting and laughing as they approached. Vince and Greg were like brothers. Vince had even helped coach Greg’s wrestling team when they were younger. There were precious few friendships that survived the wreckage of California and they were truly a fit pair. Greg had always been a good-looking guy and quite a charmer. He was lean and muscular with dark hair and dark brown eyes. He was light-hearted but took his responsibilities very seriously. As a jack-of-all-trades, he could often be found at construction jobs around the camp, but he was often at the gardens as well. He knew the aquaponics systems that they used for vegetable growth inside and out.

  “So who’s in trouble now?” Greg joked as they approached.

  “Surprisingly, no one. Well, actually Dex was earlier, but that’s not what I’m here about,” Erika replied stammering a little.

  “Then what’s up?” Vince asked.

  “Alex asked Mathew to put us on the rescue crew,” Erika stated bluntly. She knew Vince already had knowledge of Alex’s plan but she didn’t think it was a good idea to let Sergeant Walker in on that part of the scheme.

  “He did?” Vince acted surprised.

  “What?” Greg was really shocked. “Mathew would never let us go.”

  “Wrong, Greg,” Erika teased. “He did.”

  “No way!” Greg said, completely shocked.

  “All of us?” Vince questioned in disbelief.

  “Well…almost all of us,” Erika answered hesitantly.

  “What do you mean?” He knew something was amiss.

  “We have to leave Daniel, Carmen and Crystal with Mathew,” Erika replied directly.

  “What? No!” Vince replied. “Erika, you of all people know we don’t split up!”

  “I know, Vince, but…” Erika countered.

  “But what, Erika?” Vince was done with this conversation. Terrance and Greg stood watching the show.

  Erika gently put her hands on his shoulders. “But baby, this is our chance to see the world outside these gates and a chance for an opportunity within them,” Erika begged desperately.

  “No this is a chance to leave our son behind, get totally screwed and have the whole world blow up in our face. I’m fine here, our family is together and we’re safe,” Vince said, shaking his arms from her grasp.

  “I hear you and I’m scared too, but…” Erika was searching for any excuse to change his mind.

  “No, Erika, there is no ‘but.’” Vince only stood his ground when he knew he had very solid ground to stand on. This was one of those times.

  “Fine, huh? Everything is fine?” She raised her voice now, completely enraged by his stubbornness. “Maybe for you. You got your cushy job here in the gardens, sucking up to Mathew with record production, but I got nothing. Yes, I have my family, and you know I would do anything for any one of them…”

  “Then stop.” He was raising his voice now too. The workers in the gardens all lifted their heads from the task they were completing and looked their way. “We are not going to leave Daniel behind. You know how bad I want out too, but not under these circumstances, Erika, no!” He had lowered his voice back down and his eyes pleaded with hers. The problem was, he knew that look that she was giving him. She was driven. She had already faced the reality of leaving her youngest son behind and accepted it as a necessary sacrifice. His heart began to soften to her pleading. “You really want to go, baby?”

  “Yes, I do, Vince,” she said calmly.

  “What about you, Greg?” He turned to his friend, looking for some sort of backup. “You ready to leave your son and granddaughter behind to go traipsing off to Colorado?”

  “Vince, it’s been a long time since the quake, and the quakes aren’t as widespread anymore.” Greg understood Vince’s reservations, but he was a more independent man. He deeply loved his family, but didn’t see the problem with an outing.

  “And what about Penni and Mitchell? How are they going to feel about leaving their kids behind?” Vince reminded Greg of the intense battle he was about to have trying to convince Penni.

  “Just let me deal with them,” he responded, trying to look like a man in control, but the truth was he wasn’t sure how Penni would react.

  “Really, Greg? Okay, whatever you say.” Vince was not impressed. “You guys really want to work for the government on a mission where we have to leave our babies behind? I can’t believe you two.”

  “Baby, I know this is not going to be easy, but we need a break from this place,” Erika pleaded desperately.

  “I know…but I just don’t know, Erika. I really don’t want to leave Daniel.” He wasn’t giving in that easy.

  “Well, I’m going, Vince. I’m going.” All this arguing the issue had just made her resolve all the more final. “I’m going with or without you.”

  Vince stepped back, hurt by her statement. He stared in disbelief at her. This was his woman, full of strength, fire and determination. This was not the shell of herself that he had been watching deteriorate day after day stuck in this hole.

  He smiled a little, finding her beautiful in her fury. “So that’s how it is? You’re going with or without me,” he said sarcastically. He had to wonder if she really would do it, or if this was just a last minute grasp to change his mind. “You would leave me and Daniel here? To go on a mission for them?”

  “No, I would leave you and Daniel here to go and get a glimpse of what’s out there,” she said, trying to sound convincing.

  “Oh, really?” he said. He was standing over her now, and he could feel the heat of her body on his.

  “I don’t want to go without you, Vince, but I will if you make me do it,”
she replied lovingly.

  “Truly,” he said, bumping into her gently.

  “Yes, Vince,” she agreed again, trying to deny his pull on her.

  “I love you.” He kissed her gently.

  “And I love you too, Vince, but we are not going to get this opportunity again.” She pulled away slightly from his touch.

  “Fine, can we just talk about this later?” He was put off by her and needed time to weigh the decision. He was not a man to act impulsively.

  “No, Vince, we have to decide now. I still have to go talk with my mom and we need to meet at 17:00 at Warehouse D.” She was insistent and needed an answer.

  “I’m behind you, bro,” Greg chimed in. “Whatever you say, I’m with ya.”

  Vince was impressed by his friend’s sudden change of heart but wished he would have sided with him in the first place. That way maybe the two of them could have convinced Erika. Vince stepped away from them and paced around for a little while.

  Sergeant Walker finally broke the stalemate. “Mr. Moore, we need a decision. As Rescue Recruit Moore stated, we still have more stops and a timetable we must adhere to.”

  Rescue Recruit Moore. Vince said it over and over in his head. He had to wonder what she was getting them into. He could just stay and tend his garden and watch out for the kids…but the absolute love of his life was hell-bent on going on this rescue mission. He felt for her. Everyone had found a place to fit in and be useful at the camp, but Erika never accepted this life. She was stuck in a kitchen feeling like a useless chopping machine most of the time and denied her passions of physical training and outdoors life. Now she had her spark back and he loved that. They had been separated for too long before, and he vowed to himself that he would always be with her, by her side, to protect her.

  CHAPTER 15