“Are they feeding you properly in your camp? And Lulu?” I laughed at this, at his concern for our diets. The end of the world could be upon us, and he still would only care about the comfort of those he loved.
I became serious then and responded. “We’re fine. They’re taking pretty good care of all of us. In fact, they’ll probably start vaccinating people soon, against malaria. They have good attention to detail … but, Jack, Rory wants me to talk in front of all the people.” I quickly changed topics and I knew I was rambling, but I also knew he was accustomed to that. It felt good to talk to him like nothing had changed. I continued, “He wants me to be some sort of mascot. How am I going to do that? I’d rather face an angry alien race than all those Originals who think our family is a bunch of freaks.” I knew I sounded petulant but couldn’t help myself. Jack responded lovingly, “You’ll be great. It’s your chance to shine, and to hell with what they think of us. As for the half-morphs, they look to me for leadership, too. So we make a great pair, kid.” I heard the smile in his voice, although he was physically incapable of it in his current form. I looked over to where Alyssa was situated, her head in an alert position, but didn’t allow my gaze to linger on her. In fact, all the half-morphs in this tent, and in the surrounding tents, were looking toward Jack. I wasn’t surprised that he’d become a leader for them.
“We’ll fight. We’ll listen to Rory, and I’ll make sure everyone falls in line with what he says. Mina, I don’t think the Travelers ever fully intended to leave us alone forever. Even though I tried to get you to think that way, because I know how you worry. I hate that your worries are coming true now. But we’re incredibly strong, and who knows what we’re capable of on a battlefield. We’re fighting for our autonomy as a species, kid. Trust me on this one.”
I sighed, leaning back on my haunches. I noted the beads of sweat that had formed on Jack’s hide, and looked for a researcher to draw attention to this change in his physiology. I wondered where Eva was and was about to ask Jack that very question when Rory interrupted. He had been standing a respectful distance behind Lulu and me but approached us now.
“It’ll be time to get ye back to camp. Ye’re already inoculated, but yer roommates likely won’t be. Need to get them back for that. And then it’ll be sunset soon, and we’ll be making sure everyone is snug in their houses for the night.”
I didn’t take my eyes from Jack, and Lulu imitated me to perfection. Leaving him after only being with him such a short time would tear my heart in two, but Rory had to be heeded. I wondered if I’d see Jack again before the Travelers arrived in our orbit, and didn’t want to think about that.
“We’ll see you again soon, I swear it,” I thought at Jack, and he nodded. The other half-morphs also nodded, united in their cause. It was now set in stone, there was a fight coming, and they would be weapons in that fight. The trepidation that lay heavy on my mind and heart must have been conveyed to my husband because his thoughts were of us holding hands once again, his own hand not deformed or misshapen by his genetic mutation.
I ushered Lulu away, letting her hesitate for a moment to throw one of her own thoughts at her father, and then we were walking away from the camp toward the jeep-car. The Officers stayed close to Rory, but he ignored them and kept his eyes on Lulu and me. I knew he was curious about our ability to communicate with the half-morphs, but he kept his questions to himself. Instead, after we’d all climbed in, he turned to fix me with his fiery gaze and said, “I’ll be telling ye what to say to the Originals tomorrow morning. And ye’re to follow my instructions to the letter.”
I didn’t argue.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Back at our camp, I saw lines forming once more around the mess hall, and what appeared to be a medical clinic had been set up nearby. Researchers from the Facility were manning the stations and inoculating Originals who hadn’t previously been given antivirals. Seeing this somehow cemented the reality of all that had occurred and I began to feel real terror. Everything up to this point had had a surreal quality, and it had been like watching someone else going through the motions of the drama that was playing out. But now, seeing people vulnerable and terrified, I realized what was coming. War. And these unsuspecting citizens were about to be recruited. Lulu was at my side, but she was scanning for our group among the crowds. Rory had given me a time to meet him the following morning, when he’d brief me on what to say to the masses who would be ordered to gather at a platform set up somewhere in between all the various camps. I felt the flutter of butterflies at this thought and tamped down the rising panic. As my mother always said, I’d cross that bridge when I got to it. I felt an odd and rare pang of homesickness for her, and for my little cramped apartment in a Manhattan now long gone. And my cat, Buddy. I blinked my eyes, wondering why I’d think of my distant past at this moment, with the hot sun of what was once known as the Congo beating down on me and my daughter. Lulu tugged on my hand, and I was relieved to be freed from my turbulent thoughts.
“Yeah, Little Owl?”
“Over there, I see Tyler and his moms and the funny man you like. Let’s go tell them what happened with Daddy!” She was excited to have a story to tell, but I warned her against giving away too much information. They’d all be finding out what Rory had told me the previous morning soon enough, and I wanted them to have one night free from outright fear.
The fall evening was growing cooler as sunset approached, and huge floodlights were turned on around the perimeter of the camp. Lulu picked up her pace, waving at Tyler as we approached. Mack was still munching on a pseudo-chicken leg and looking amused. I wondered if I’d get a chance to grill him about any special abilities he might have, like me. There HAD to be a reason he had been spared the genetic mutation of becoming an Eater, but I felt the question might be too intrusive. Annie and Isabelle looked a little wary at our approach, but I didn’t have the energy to try to set them at ease. They knew we’d been to see my half-morph husband, and I didn’t begrudge them their unease. I couldn’t win every popularity contest.
“So we’re wondering how it went, eh? I’m quite curious to see a … half-morph are they callin’ em? Oh yes, eh. I’d like to see one up close.” He stopped when he saw the look in my eyes. “But I’m not wanting to step on your toes. It’s your husband who’s one of ’em, after all, eh.” Mack went back to gnawing on the leg, and Annie hunkered down to offer Lulu a slice of pie she’d set aside. I smiled at the little kindness and thought maybe they weren’t so averse to us after all. Tyler was eager to get back to teaching Lulu one of his favorite interactive games on his computer, and although he was using his mind to operate the thing, I didn’t forbid Lulu from doing the same. I was too tired.
“Looks like we’ll all be inoculated here in a short time,” Annie said, “although with the lack of foliage, I’m not seeing a problem with disease-carrying insects. And the plumbing seems to have nothing but filtered and fresh water.” The crinkles around her eyes lifted in a lovely smile directed at me. Isabelle was standing with her dark eyes trained on Tyler and Lulu, her broad shoulders tense.
“We’ll stand here with you guys while you wait, although we’ve already had our shots. We’ve got nothing better to do, right Little Owl?” Lulu barely looked up at that, so engrossed with the game that her mother was forgotten. A tiny smile played around Isabelle’s lips, and she spoke to me for the first time.
“Once he’s in his games, and he’s convinced someone else to play, he’s like that for hours. We’re relieved he’s so interested in technology. It could be worse.”
We began to banter about our kids and our jobs, and the conversation was easy. I felt better knowing I could trust my daughter with these kindly women and that they felt they could trust me with their own. Mack listened to our discussion with a contented look on his oddly formed face, and I wondered if he’d had children in his previous life. Here I was, a clone who had procreated with a scientific oddity, so his interest was understandable.
The line moved forward and soon it was my group’s turn to get the shots that would ensure they didn’t get sick out here in the forest, and I was certain the motivation behind it wasn’t so much their well-being as the need for them to perform at optimum levels as soldiers. My heart sank again at this reality, but I kept my eyes from showing my sadness and fear. The change in my demeanor wasn’t lost on Mack, whose gaze grew even sharper. Maybe he could read minds.
The tones of my communicator chimed, and I was grateful for the distraction. Lulu and Tyler had found a large stump where a tree once stood and their little heads were bent over Tyler’s device. I took my communicator out and turned my back on my group for some privacy. It was my team, all three of them together in a separate camp.
“Hey guys, you’re probably wondering how Jack is doing, and if Lulu and I are comfortable in our new house. It’s good to see you all again, and I think I should tell you what Rory has planned for me tomorrow …” I trailed off at the looks on their faces. They hadn’t spoken yet and I’d been babbling, so I shut up. I glanced at Lulu, praying what they would tell me wasn’t more bad news. I knew I couldn’t handle it, and neither could my kid. But these guys looked like they’d seen a ghost, and when they spoke, I knew that it was quite literally true.
“Mina, we’ve run into someone here at our camp. It’s not someone we thought we’d ever see again and I’d tell you to sit down but you’re out in the camp and there’s probably nowhere to sit …” Marilyn had taken charge, and Nick and Elizabeth had their eyes glued to my face to gauge my response. I sighed.
“Hurry up and tell me your horrible news. Just get it over with. There’s really nothing else you could say that would possibly be worse than what I heard today from Rory. And we went to see Jack at the separate half-morph camp, and …” I was babbling again.
“Well, this person is coming to your camp.” Nick had taken over now. “This person is close to Rory, so … well, Rory knew this person was around and just didn’t tell you. Or forgot. But, this person wants to see you immediately. We talked, and we think it’s safe. Just, please don’t be alarmed. We think it will be for the best.” The constant lump of lead that had taken up residence in my belly grew even heavier.
“Will you just come out and tell me what’s going on? I’m supposed to give a speech to the entire population of Originals who are out here in the forest tomorrow morning, and it’s going to be some kind of battle cry. Rory is briefing me in the morning. So really, what could be worse than that?”
Elizabeth opened her mouth to reply, then closed it. The three of them looked at one another again, and then she finally spoke. “It’s Luke. He’s here.”
I almost dropped the phone. I wasn’t expecting that, and at first I didn’t know how to respond. Then a fury rose up inside me like a tidal wave, and I knew a thing or two about tidal waves. Last I had seen Luke, he’d had a dart gun full of lethal poison directed right at me, intent on killing both me and all I held dear. He hadn’t had the chance, because I’d been beamed up to the Travelers’ spacecraft, and when I’d returned to tell my story of the Director’s decision to leave Earth, he’d vanished. No one had known what had happened to him. I didn’t even care; being free of someone who had hated me with such a passion had been a relief. And he was coming here?
“What … does he want?” I ground out and looked toward Lulu again. I’d protect her with every fiber of my being. Also, I could sic my half-morph husband on the bastard if he lifted one finger against her …
“He’s here in peace. He, well, he wants to explain it all to you and we feel he should have that chance. Really, you’ve got to believe us. We’d never put you guys in danger, not if we thought he was out to get you again. He convinced us though. Once you see him, you’ll realize he’s been through quite a lot. He’s … changed.” Marilyn was speaking now, and she looked earnest.
“Guys, I trust your judgment, but this man hated my guts. Now I’ve got a kid to protect, and a half-morph husband. And there’s going to be a war. I’m not supposed to tell anyone, but you’re my team. You can handle the truth. It’s no longer a possibility, it’s a definite. And now you want to spring LUKE of all people on me?” I was breathing heavily and Lulu had taken notice. So had the rest of my group, who were preparing to go back to our shelter for the night. They hadn’t overheard what I’d said, because I was keeping my voice hushed, but they knew something was wrong. The sun was dipping lower, and it would be dark soon. The last thing I wanted to do was see or talk to Luke.
“Go to the northern edge of your camp. He’ll meet you there to talk, but there are Obedience Officers around all the time so don’t be afraid. Leave Lulu with someone in your camp for a little while. He wants to talk to you alone.” Elizabeth was speaking now, and her face was set into stoic lines. I let out the biggest sigh yet, and resigned myself to this new intrusion.
“Let me explain to my group where I’m going and I’ll give Lulu to my new friends. You’re lucky I trust them already, and they seem to trust me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t leave her, not even to talk to Luke.” They nodded in agreement, and I told them I’d talk to them tomorrow after my big speech and fill them in on what happened with Luke.
“Good luck,” Marilyn offered, and I didn’t know which event she was wishing me well for, meeting with Luke or speaking to an entire population of people.
My group was assembled together on the road toward our shelter, and they looked worried. I spoke to Annie first, putting a reassuring hand on Lulu’s head.
“Would you mind getting her ready for bed? I won’t be gone long but someone from another camp wants to talk to me … Do you mind?”
“You sure do seem to be a pretty important person around here. But we understand, go meet whomever you need to and we’ll put Lulu down along with Tyler. It’ll be ok.” Annie’s eyes were wise and I could tell she sensed my tension. I spoke to Lulu next and told her to obey the two women.
“I’ll keep the kids occupied before bedtime with some stories I think they’ll find interesting,” Mack said, and I was thankful that he was so perceptive. I had been lucky to be put into such a great group of people, even if they were unsure of me.
I left them reluctantly, and headed toward the northern edge of the camp. I lengthened my stride and picked up my pace so I was at a light jog, although to anyone else it would appear to be a full run. I wanted this interaction over as soon as possible. I allowed myself to enjoy the casual activity, my muscles thanking me for letting them stretch. The air was crisper, and the dirt beneath my feet felt solid. Still though, I was jogging toward a sworn enemy, and I couldn’t help but feel nervous. Even though my team had said he’d changed. The lights around the perimeter made it easy to see where I was going, although with my perfect eyesight I didn’t need them. Obedience Officers were indeed stationed around the borders, and that made me feel a little safer. Then I saw a dark figure, close to where the tree line began. His form was misshapen somehow, and I quickly ascertained that one entire side of his body seemed to drag downward at a slight angle. I slowed my pace, now unsure of how safe this really was. I still couldn’t make out any features, but I could see hair that was long and tangled, perhaps dirty. Surely this wasn’t Luke, who had been a real asshole but had always been kempt. I was at a walk now, scanning the perimeter for an Obedience Officer who could intervene at any distress call I might give.
“Hello, Dr. Brice,” the figure spoke, and the voice was only vaguely familiar. I got a little closer, putting my hands out in front of me as if in defense against this shadowy person. He mimicked my movements, but it was in invitation.
Then he stepped into the light, and I gasped at what I saw.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“What HAPPENED to you?” I exclaimed, and didn’t think for a moment it might be a rude question. Anyone who had known Luke previously would have responded the same way. But my question was pretty loud, and an Obedience Officer stopped to look over at us. In the lengthening shadows of the early
evening, I noted that none of the Officers carried any weapons yet, although I knew they existed in the hands of the Facility. I lamented that fact, because Luke looked like a criminal if ever there was one. His hair was greasy and long, hanging in tangles over the scarred half of his face. He held his right arm at an odd angle, and I noticed several zigzagging lines crossing his hand. He’d been mauled, that much was evident. I found I didn’t feel at all sympathetic.
He shifted his feet uncomfortably, and I noted he was wearing new shoes and a new tunic set. His good eye was cast downward, and he cleared his throat before responding.
“I got into a wrestling match with a big cat a few years ago. I know I don’t look the same, but please don’t be afraid. You have every reason not to trust me, but I hope you’ll listen to what I have to say.”
“Last time I saw you, you were pretty intent on killing me, my husband, and my unborn child. Granted, you didn’t know I was pregnant at the time, but had you known, you wouldn’t have hesitated to dart me with that tranq gun you became glued to.” It had been the only weapon the small band of rebels had been able to come up with against the Eaters, and it would have only worked while they had reverted back to their human form. Eaters were unstoppable once mutated.
“Rory has kept in contact with me over the years, and I know all about the work you’ve been doing with the others, and how hard you’ve tried to adapt to Origin life. And, I was wrong.” He ran his scarred hand over his deformed face, and I thought I saw true regret there. But I wasn’t letting my guard down any time soon. He continued, “Rory has given me a job here in the camps. Well, to be accurate, as a janitor in the half-morph camp. I thought you should know, directly from me, that I’ll be around your husband and I only mean well …” He trailed off when he caught a glimpse of my expression.
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