I awoke the following day to the oily scent of gun solvent, and the soft hiss-hiss of a bore brush scraping through a rifle barrel.
Mid-afternoon rays trickled through the window of our shared cabin to cast cheery patterns on the hardwood floorboards. Jamie sat cross-legged on the floor, her back to her messy bunk, scrubbing at her disassembled Kalashnikov. On the edge of his own bed, Chris hunched opposite her, with a captured ELSAR M4 carbine that he’d been given by Adam. Neither of them acknowledged the other’s existence, a tense silence between them that could have been cut with a knife. It occurred to me, lying half-awake covered in soft white sheets and a thick bearskin coverlet, that Chris and Jamie had always been rather frigid with each other, at least while I was around. Granted, there had been times where they’d protected each other as well as me, but in moments like this, where I expected them to show some form of comradery, they exhibited none. Jamie didn’t even look at him, and for his part, Chris ignored her presence, with a stiffness that could have put Victorian England to shame.
I’ve never seen them so cold with anyone else.
Uncomfortable by that thought, I made a point to stretch, and yawned loud enough to catch their attention.
“It’s aliiivvveee.” Jamie droned in mock drama, a wry grin brightening up her face. “About time you got up. It’s nearly three.”
I sat back against the plank headboard of my narrow bunk and rubbed at my eyes, still sore in places from my crazed rampage through the spider nest. “I take it I missed lunch?”
Chris’s sky-blue irises collided with mine, and my spine tingled in happy jolts at how he smiled, pointing to a plate of rolls, jerky strips, and apple slices by my bedside. “Eve sent snacks, just in case. We didn’t want to wake you, since we figured you needed your rest. Dinner should be in a few hours though.”
Sliding my feet out from under the covers, I reached for a wooden hairbrush, and started to work the tangles out of my messy hair. Outside, the usual clamor of activity filtered through the salvaged glass windows, wheels clattering on carts, bugles of the Bone-Faced deer piercing the sky, and workers calling to one another in the autumn breeze. Despite the picturesque beauty of this place, I was glad to see the sunshine dancing on the cabin floor, if for no other reason than it guaranteed the least amount of mutants possible for the start of my day.
If I never see another Echo Spider again, that’d be great.
Tying my hair into the best ponytail I could be bothered with, I selected a plump wheat roll from the plate Eve had left for me and tugged at my rumpled tunic collar. “So, when are we going to—”
Wham.
The door to the cabin swung open with a burst, and one of the other women of Ark River poked her honey-colored head inside, pale face flush in excitement. “It’s starting! Come quick, they’re almost here!”
They?
But before I could blurt so much as a ‘good afternoon’ the woman darted back out the door and left the three of us scrambling to follow. I snatched a pair of homemade socks at the foot of my bed, Jamie crammed the pieces of her rifle back together, and Chris hopped on one foot to pull his boots on. With my wheat roll suck into one pocket, I grabbed my black backpack, its straps mended by one of the seamstresses the night prior, and slung it onto my shoulders. In a tangle of hurried limbs and jumbled shoes, we all ran out the door together, and swept along with a growing number of Ark River denizens toward the eastern gate.
A crowd had gathered by the time we reached the wall, and I had to huddle behind Chris while he slid between them just to get through. It must have rained during the morning, and the wet grass squeaked under my shoes like polished floor tile.
Once they reached the gate, everyone fell into hushed whispers, some with happy expressions, others with tight-lipped anxiety. Many still held the tools they’d been using to go about their daily tasks, as if they’d dropped everything just for this moment, and now waited in silent anticipation.
I managed to worm my way to the front, and both feet screeched to a halt, enough that Jamie stumbled into me from behind.
Laid out across the grass, twenty-two charred statues lay curled into fetal positions on the ground. They were so burned, crusted over with ebony soot, that I couldn’t tell which was a man or woman, nor could I make out eyes, fingers, or even toes. If a giant had molded a few dozen people from black clay, with clumsy imitations of hands and feet that bore no detail, these would have been the result, and I stared at them in grotesque wonder.
They look like those fossil people from Pompeii. What on earth is this?
Adam stood in the center of the mass of statues, his head bowed, eyes screwed shut, hands clasped together in fervent prayer. Other men were circled around the statues doing the same, and behind them, a line of women beseeched their God with adamant unspoken words, buckets of soapy water, and stacks of folded towels at their feet.
Crunch.
I jumped, as did several of the onlookers around me, and Adam whirled to face one of the statues.
Slack jawed, I watched as the statue twitched ever so slightly on the carpet of damp grass.
Crack.
A line appeared on the barren head, split down the center, and more fractures spider-webbed their way across the prostrate figure.
Adam and four other men ran to kneel beside the statue and began to pry away at the sooty black chunks with gloved hands. Pieces came off in disgusting slurks and sticky brown residue coated the underside of them like used motor oil.
Next to me, Chris’s eyes widened like saucers. “Mary mother of God.”
Out from under the crumpling bits of black came a body, with pale skin, golden hair, and confused, golden eyes. Like the rest of them, he appeared to be somewhere in his mid-twenties, and shook like a leaf in a windstorm, nude from head to toe. The second the man’s mouth was free, he began to vomit gorges of black sludge onto the ground with agonized groans of pain, and gasped for air as the other men helped him crawl into the sunlight.
“Got another one here!” More of the helpers rushed to the opposite side of the circle, where a woman emerged, her long yellow hair clotted with greasy scum from the covering, slender limbs trembling in the cool afternoon breeze.
One by one, more of the blackened figures erupted with coughing, grimy people, and they were peeled out of their charcoal prisons by the men with gloves. Once they were free, the line of women swooped in to scrub the newcomers down with warm soapy water, and wrap them in layers of soft towels, smiling and hugging them all the while. Crews of three to four people carried them away to the church, and many in the crowd joined them in a happy babble of noise.
I stood there amongst it all and shook my head in amazement at the reactions of the people. Unlike so many in our modern world, these wore their heart on their sleeves with unabashed honesty, laughing, weeping, and clapping for joy over their newfound comrades. In that way, they seemed so innocent, so ecstatic at the life of another, and I wondered what it would be like to just wake up one day in a pile of slime, surrounded by smiling faces as they pulled me from the muck.
No wonder they’re all so close. Kind of hard to be a stranger when the entire community has seen you naked and puking.
“The first day is traumatic for everyone.” Eve appeared at my elbow, her face aglow in a soft, reminiscent smile. “First the sun sears you, burns away all that you were as a Lost One, right down to your core. Then, you lie unconscious for hours, entombed, until you awaken to your muscles spasming to help break you out. Once you taste air, it causes you to vomit up the fluid that used to be your insides as a monster, so your new organs can begin their work. It’s incredibly painful, pushing all that scum from your lungs and stomach, but it doesn’t last long. Once you’re free, the whole world is yours, beautiful and new. A far better fate than the alternative.”
Most of the crowd began to clear away, but I noticed that five of the statues remained on the ground, unmoving, not so much as a split in their dense black shells. “What’s wrong with those ones?”
Adam approached one of the figures, and I could see his shoulders slump in disappointment.
Eve’s golden eyes followed her husband’s defeated form, like two sympathetic orbs of celestial fire. “As Lost Ones, our bodies were filled with rot and disease, but once that is reversed, some of us are susceptible to the bacteria in the air. Things you were born breathing in a hospital, like mold spores, can kill those of us who aren’t strong enough. It’s a terrible reality for our kind, but Adam always takes it especially hard.”
Our eyes met, and I saw the hesitation there, the uncertainty, as Eve’s hands smoothed over her stomach. “You’re worried about your baby?”
“What mother doesn’t?” Fear glimmered in her eyes, and Eve lowered her voice into a timid whisper. “Being born from a husk is no way for a child to live. I want my baby to have a normal home, one I never had, built on the love of a father and mother. Our kind have no future if we can’t birth our own children the natural way. Sooner or later, we’ll run out of Lost Ones to redeem. Adam has done everything he can, he already has so much to care for, and I don’t want to worry him, but . . . I’m terrified that something will go wrong.”
My own expression fell, and it hit me now just how wrong I’d been about this place. Sure, it looked like paradise with the beautiful rustic architecture, the bountiful fields, and mesmerizing people, but they were staring down the long dark barrel of oblivion if they couldn’t reproduce. We were worried about having too many people to feed in New Wilderness but here . . . here they were worried that someday, there might not be any of them left.
I guess being born perfect isn’t so perfect after all.
I wound my arm into hers, and patted Eve’s hand with a supportive smile. “If something bad was going to happen, it would have happened already. You’re going to be a great mom. I’m sure everything will be fine.”
She smiled through a thin veil of silvery tears, caught my hand, and squeezed it hard in a silent, but grateful thank you.
Standing amongst the unmoving statues, Adam let out a long sigh, and called to the other men. “Take these ones to the cemetery. God has given us all he will today.”
He tore his gloves off with frustrated jerks, and Eve let go of me to run to him.
“I’ve never seen anything like that.” Chris shifted on his feet beside me, his face coated in partial disbelief, and partial fascination. “Can you imagine just waking up one day, fully grown, and starting your life from there?”
Jamie appeared from behind me and kicked at a discarded chunk of the black crust in the grass, a look of disgust on her narrow face. “You mean like an insect?”
Chris threw her a warning glare, but Jamie just ignored him, and I clenched both fists within my trouser pockets to distract myself from her acidic remarks.
She can be so mean sometimes. Almost like Carla. These people have been kind to us, why be so callous?
“Five this time.” Adam’s emotion-laden voice broken me from my thoughts, and I looked up to find him and Eve embracing, his eyes blinking rapidly over a disheartened frown. “Five of them, gone. I don’t understand, did I not have enough faith? I prayed so much, I thought maybe we’d get all of them for once . . .”
Eve reached up to take his face in her hands, and her face bore the same grief, the same torment but worse, as if it tore her heart to see Adam hurting. “Amor vitae meae, seventeen alive is better than none at all. Those that died are in God’s hands now, as is his will. You did everything you could.”
Adam swallowed, but nodded, and a faint smile crossed his weary face. “Quomodo sine te vivere potui?”
“Per gratium Dei.” Eve stood up on her tiptoes to kiss him. “Numquam.”
“Psssh.” Far enough away that they couldn’t hear, Jamie let out a huff, and rolled her eyes to mutter under her breath. “Get a room.”
I couldn’t help but narrow my eyes at her rudeness. “What’s your deal? Is your head acting up again?”
“No, I’m fine.” She gouged at the grass with her boot heel and refused to look at me.
“Then stop being a jerk.” My words shocked even me, and Jamie’s emerald irises melted into a surprised stare. I had no idea where it had come from, but I ripped my gaze away from hers in discomfort, Chris eyeing the two of us in similar shock. I didn’t talk back, I never challenged anyone, and I certainly never got the last word in an argument. In a way, I felt bad for saying it already. Perhaps there really was something wrong, and Jamie needed a friend, not a reprimand?
Jeez, Hannah, can you not go five minutes without causing problems?
“I’m glad you three are here.” Adam strode across the grass, his composure regained, Eve by his side. He spotted the backpack on my shoulders, and glanced over his shoulder to be sure we were alone. “Now that you’ve seen our secrets, I think it only fair we share in yours. Come, let’s go where there’s less prying eyes.”
They headed for the church, and Chris started after the couple, waving for me to follow him.
I took up my place by his side, unable to keep the happy smile from my face. Being close to him made goosebumps ripple over my arms, and I wished I had the courage to take his hand in mine again.
At some point in the walk however, I thought I glimpsed something on Jamie’s face when I turned around to check on her, a streak of deep pain that cut through her stern features for a fraction of a second. In the next moment, it vanished, and she swiveled her head to peer out over the distant battlements, a mask of stoic indifference.
That stole some of the warmth from my chest, and I bit my tongue in regret.
I was kind of mean back there. Maybe she’s having a bad day. I’ll have to say something later, if we get time alone.
Inside the chapel, the sanctuary was empty, the candles extinguished to throw the spacious room into shadow. Under my shoes, the old floorboards creaked with every step. Adam led us through a small door near the back, and into the parsonage where a cozy living room waited on the other side. It was more modern than the cabins, with a few non-working electric lamps, a television that would likely never light up again, and a thick beige carpet across the floor. A low brown couch squatted beside a mahogany-stained coffee table, two brown leather armchairs on the other side. A wooden rack near the wall held an assortment of quilts, including a red checkered one that Eve offered to Jamie with a generous smile.
“You look cold. It’s getting closer to winter after all. Want to borrow this? It’s my favorite.”
Jamie opened her mouth to reply, caught me watching, and a thin, polite grin plastered across her pretty face. “I’m fine. Thanks.”
She acts like Eve kicked her dog or something. I don’t get it. What’s wrong with you, Jamie?
“In that case, let’s come right to the point.” Adam pulled the curtain shut around the room and spun the deadbolt in the parsonage door. “Yesterday’s raid was out of the normal, even for us. ELSAR forces never venture this far into the south so recklessly, and the pirates know better than to linger on our shores. For them to risk open battle, and for the pirates to trust Hannah enough to send her out like they did, means there’s more to this than meets the eye.”
His gaze met mine, and I tugged off the backpack to unzip it, laying the black polymer box on the coffee table between us. Chris, Jamie, and I settled down on the couch, Adam and Eve on their respective chairs across from us, cautious anticipation in the air.
I watched in a mix of awe and dread as Adam flicked the plastic hinges open. What could be inside? A secret weapon? A piece of some horrible mutant? Perhaps some rare artifact to explain the origins of the Breach?
Out of the case came a rectangular yellow device, about a foot long, with a small digital screen at one end, and an array of tiny buttons beneath it. Two shiny metal antennas lay folded underneath, and a bulky square battery rested in plastic wrap beside it, along with a folded paper pamphlet. It seemed to be made of metal, maybe aluminum, and looked brand-new. For a moment, it reminded me of the old-school civil defense Geiger counters my weird Uncle Dave collected for his trailer in Paducah.
Adam turned the device over in his hands with an inquisitive frown. “It’s a beacon.”
Chris scooted forward on his section of the couch, eyes afire with interest. “How do you know?”
“It’s labeled.” With a surprised chuckle, Adam tapped his finger on the side of it, and read aloud. “Liminal Detection Beacon, model 01106, property of the Environmental Liminal Space Alleviation and Reduction Program. SN: 07. Say what you want about the soldiers, but they are a very organized bunch. What do you make of that, amica mea?”
Eve had the pamphlet in her hands, and leafed through it with astonishing speed, her golden eyes flying over the words with uncanny precision. “It’s an experimental satellite communication system, one of nine beacons in total. When used in a sequential circuit, they can jam electronic signals in an area of 100 square miles, increase radio signal for friendly comms centers, or act as a direct link to satellite guidance platforms. When activated simultaneously they. . .”
Her hands froze, the pages ceased rustling, and a torrent of concern flooded Eve’s angelic facial features.
“. . . generate a concentrated, high-frequency electro-magnetic pulse. One with the radius of about 400 square miles.”
I snuck a look at Jamie, hoping for her usual razor-sharp intuition, but she seemed to be lost in thought, slouched back in her place among the soft cushions. “I don’t get it. Is that bad?”
Adam glowered at the device and exchanged worried glances with his wife. “It could be. All my electronics began to malfunction the day the first of the mutants arrived. It only grew worse by the day, until I couldn’t so much as make a phone call, which means the ‘Breach’ as you call it, is tied directly to some kind of electro-magnetic energy. If ELSAR intended to use this, it could only be because they believe it may somehow slow or stop the spread of what is happening in Barron County.”
“But that’s good though.” I searched the faces around the table for a comforting answer, even as it occurred to me that there might not be one. “Right?”
“Depends on what it means for us.” Jamie spoke up at last, and gnawed at her lower lip again, both green eyes locked on the beacon in hateful suspicion. “I doubt they went through all that trouble just to get faster Wi-Fi. Can the others work without this one?”
Eve rummaged through the rest of the pamphlet in a few minutes of silence and shook her head. “No. Each is individually coded. We’d need a nine-digit access key to turn it on, which the soldiers would have had with them when they died, I assume.”
“That’s why they want it back.” Chris folded his hands in thought. “To cut us off from the outside world once and for all. Think about it, the Breach is a slow-burning EMP, so most of our shielded equipment like the modified trucks and Carter’s surplus radios are safe. But this would instantly fry any complex circuitry all over Barron County, meaning the only ones left with working comms, vehicles, and generators would be ELSAR.”
With a ragged sigh, Adam placed the beacon back into its case, along with the manual, and snapped it shut. “Of course, there is no way of knowing if they have backup systems on standby. But I think it’s safe to assume that, if they’re willing to risk so much for this one, they can’t easily get more. We’d a proper laboratory environment to examine it in better detail, with functioning electricity, and better equipment. I’m afraid our smithy is good for making swords and armor from old scrap, but not for dissecting complex electronics.”
Chris and I caught each other’s eye, and an idea formed in my head. “We have that. At New Wilderness. Dr. O’Brian could help us.”
“Did you forget what tomorrow is?” Jamie rubbed her eyes as if she were exhausted and cupped her chin in one hand. “It’s the 30th . . . election day. We bring this thing in, tell everyone it’s a game-changing weapon, and all hell will break loose in the Assembly.”
Chris never took his eyes off the box, but the corners of his mouth drew downwards at Jamie’s reminder. “Carter will confiscate it right away, and with all those armored trucks on his side, there would be no way to make him give it back. Dr. O’Brian might not let it go either, since it could be nice leverage for her Researchers. Sanderson would probably support us, but the Workers aren’t all united, and the Ranger faction has more guns. If it came to a fight, they’d easily take it from us.”
So, there’s only one person we can trust.
“Sean has to know.” I crossed my arms, unwilling to budge on the subject. “He’s the only one who has enough authority to keep the factions from fighting. If we get the beacon to him, maybe he can use it to stay in power.”
“For how long?” Jamie growled in frustration, and talked emphatically with dramatic waves of her hands. “He promised to create reform, not a dictatorship. Even if the beacon gives us an advantage over ELSAR, it doesn’t solve the lack of space, or our food problems, or the dwindling fuel supply. People vote with their stomachs, not their brains, and if Sean can’t deliver on his promises, they’ll throw him under the bus for someone like O’Brian or Carter. Then we’re really screwed.”
Having observed our chaotic debate from across the coffee table, Adam shifted in his seat and cleared his throat. “It sounds like you need an armed faction strong enough to protect the beacon, but without conflicting interest in your internal politics.”
“One that could help you expand your base.” Eve sat up straighter alongside her husband, the two of them eyeing us with expectation. “And teach you how to work with the land, not against it.”
Jamie’s expression darkened, and I could hear her teeth grind together. “Thanks, but we—”
“We’d have to think about it.” Chris cut her off, and the two glared at each other like pit bulls ready to fight. “As much as I appreciate the offer, we’d have to think about it. New Wilderness isn’t like Ark River. People are more . . . assertive, there. I wouldn’t want to risk any of your family being hurt.”
Oblivious to the Cold-War level conflict brewing on our side of the coffee table, Eve turned to me, and pointed to the box. “You’re the one who found it. What do you think?”
I think I hate being the tiebreaker for important decisions.
I cringed under the barrage of eyes from around the room and stared at the box in thought. “How far are we from New Wilderness?”
“A day’s ride.” Adam drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair in a slow, repeating rhythm. “If necessary, we can prepare tonight and leave first thing in the morning. However, I’m not sure I want to risk my congregation’s safety by dividing our forces. If it really isn’t safe at New Wilderness, I can’t take the chance of opening a third front in this war.”
Chris and Jamie waited for my answer, and I winced at a nervous twist from my empty belly, the wheat roll still in my pocket. This had the potential to get wildly out of hand, worse than my escapade with the spiders. If a miniature civil war erupted inside New Wilderness, it could mean the annihilation of everyone in the fort come wintertime. Our return could very well kick it off. But we couldn’t stay missing forever, and the elections were going to happen with or without us.
My eyes met Eve’s and another thought came to mind. “Our medical officer, Dr. O’Brian, she has a clinic with all sorts of equipment. She could run some tests on you, to help monitor the baby’s health. With all her advanced medicine, if anything would happen, she could help fix it.”
Her face glowed with hope, and Eve threw Adam a desperate look.
For a moment, Adam frowned, and his mouth opened and shut, as if trying to conjure up excuses.
“Fine.” His face softened, Eve’s pleading eyes too much for him, and some of the tension slackened from Adam’s shoulders. “Tomorrow, we’ll ride for New Wilderness. I’ll have the others pack gifts for our hosts, as a gesture of goodwill. Hopefully this Dr. O’Brian is as good as you say she is, Hannah.”
Eve got us some juice from their pantry to celebrate, but despite the lightened mood, I couldn’t feel happy. I’d wanted us to return to New Wilderness ever since our truck tumbled off that God-forsaken cliff, but now that the day drew near, a coil of dread wrapped itself around my heart. We could be walking into a trap of our own making, a bomb primed to explode, with our ‘secret’ as the fuse. What if someone got hurt? What if Chris, Jamie, or one of the Ark River people got caught in the crossfire? If Eve was injured, or worse, lost her baby because of me, could I live with myself afterwards?
Maybe I won’t live long enough to find out.
Chris chatted with Adam, and Jamie maintained her morose silence, leaving me to sink back into my spot on the cocoa-brown couch, and wish the world would close over top of me.