Chapter 20
This boy was seriously suffering from the heat, so there was no use asking him for directions. They’d already checked out his pockets and didn’t see the outline of a cell phone, and, anyway they weren’t about to ask for help from him. They’d had just about enough of nasty and mean comments for one day. Reece and Sean turned to leave, but they’d only walked half a dozen steps when he called after them, but it was a gentler voice this time.
“Look, I’m sorry. I know it’s not your fault, and I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. What I need is somebody big and strong to get this loaded up and out of here. Now, I might have to leave some of it here, but they’ll take it if I do that.” His mouth straightened into a firm line as he returned to his work. “I’m not leaving it here, so we’ll have to work faster.” He wiped his forehead with his shirt sleeve then glanced up at the children. “You see, it’s not safe here anymore. Everyone is gone, and we need to leave as soon as we get this loaded onto that cart. But, why did they send two little kids?” He looked up and studied their downcast faces for a few seconds then added. “There isn’t much time, and I need all the help I can get. So, please stay.”
Reece and Sean looked at the older boy throwing potatoes into sacks as fast as he could. What did he mean by ‘not safe’ and ‘everyone is gone’ and who would take sacks of potatoes? Lines of worry creased the boy’s face. He was frightened. Yet, the birds were singing, and a gentle breeze stirred the hot air. It was a perfectly peaceful day.
Dogs can hear sounds in the distance and see objects that people cannot see. They sense when things aren’t right. But, Bear sat between them with his tongue lolling to the side of his mouth without a care in the world. He was a protective dog, and he would warn them if there was danger.
Without looking up, the boy asked. “What’s your names?”
“I’m Reece, and this is my brother, Sean.”
He nodded his head as he looked at Sean. “I’ve heard your name, but I never heard of Reece as a name.”
“I’m the only one at school called Reece.”
“Oh, I see,” he said absently as moved farther down the row.
Sean squinted at the older boy. “What’s your name?”
“Nathan.”
“I know a couple of boys at school with that name,” Sean continued.
“Hm,” said Nathan then reached for another sack.
“Is that house yours?” asked Reece.
“Yes,” said Nathan, turning his head to look at the house. His lips seemed to quiver just a little, and then he drew them inside his mouth. “My family had to leave a week ago. I came back to dig up as many of the potatoes as I could. On my way here, I saw two enemy encampments with about five hundred men in each one, so we’ve got to be very careful on our way back. Anyway, nobody knows about the men in those two encampments, so I’ve got to get back as soon as I can and warn them.” He glanced at them for a second as he grabbed another sack. “Now do you understand why it’s so important to hurry and get out of here? They may be coming this way.”
By silent agreement the children nodded their heads. But what did Nathan mean by an enemy encampment? The word ‘enemy’ was no problem. They understood an enemy. On the other hand, ‘encampment’ was a bit of a puzzle. Did ‘encampment’ have something to do with camping out in a tent? How could campers be enemies? Well, it didn’t really matter. Nathan may be a high schooler, but he was desperate, so they may as well lend him a hand for a few minutes. They moved over to the sacks and tried to lift. They grunted a few times, but it was no use.
“Lift the sacks together, one on each end. It’ll be easier that way.”
It was not a lot easier, but at least they could pick them up. It was hot, heavy work, but the lines on the boy’s face relaxed a little as he saw the cart fill up. At least the cart was in the shade where Bear laid panting as he watched the children move back and forth in and out of the sun with each load.
And here was another thing. Where was the SUV or truck! What was the point of putting all these stupid, heavy sacks into a cart if there was nothing around to pull the cart once it was loaded? Grass had grown up all around the cart, and the wheels had sunk several inches into the ground, so it was going to be hard to move it out of its rut.
Reece glanced at Nathan as they placed another sack onto the cart. He was working completely in the glare of the sun, and his face was red with perspiration dripping from his chin. He drew a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his face then walked to the cart, reached underneath one of the wheels and drew out a large canteen. He swallowed deeply then turned to them. “Want a drink of water?”
They shrank back and tried desperately not to make an ugly face, but really, they never drank after anyone outside the family and rarely even then. . .too many germs. The children smiled weakly and shook their heads.
“It’s hot. Aren’t you thirsty?”
Reece’s eyes danced around the ground a bit. “Well, we almost never get thirsty, do we Sean.”
Sean shook his head. “Not me. I almost never get thirsty either,” he said but his eyes were fastened on the canteen.
“Is your house air conditioned?” asked Reece. “Maybe you could turn it on for a while, and we could all cool off before you leave.”
Nathan lifted the canteen partway to his mouth then stopped and stared at her. “‘Air conditioned’? What do you mean ‘air conditioned’?”
Reece stared back. She’d forgotten her own rule. “Oh, uh, nothing. I was just kidding.”
When Nathan continued to look at her with a confused frown on his face, Sean added. “She likes to joke around like that. In our family she’s known as the, uh, big kidder.”
With a final look, Nathan replaced the canteen under the cart and returned quickly to his work.
Reece and Sean let out a slow sigh. The boy didn’t have a cell phone and didn’t know what air conditioning meant. Another silent agreement was made. . .no forgetting the rule.
Sean studied the house as they carried their next sack to the cart. “I don’t think that house has electricity.”
“What do you mean? Everybody has electricity. Anyway, how could you know whether it does or not?”
“Daddy explained it to me.”
They bent over and heaved another sack off the ground
“What did he explain?”
“I walked out with him one time when someone was at our house planting trees, and he talked to them about not digging into the power or cable lines buried near there. I asked him what he meant, and he said that new places like where we live don’t have tall poles carrying electricity and cable lines running along the streets. They bury the lines in ditches beside the street then dig another ditch to each house, so every house can have electricity and cable and stuff like that.”
Reece stared at her brother. “I never knew that.”
“I didn’t either until he told me.”
They made several more trips with the sacks while Reece thought. “Okay, so since that’s an old house over there, there ought to be poles leading up it, but there aren’t any. So, that’s why you think it doesn’t have electricity.”
They carried two more sacks in silence while Sean frowned in deep thought. “There weren’t any poles at the village either,” he finally said.
They laid the sack on top of the others, but Reece hesitated on their way back and turned to look at Nathan. “Maybe we’re still in the park,” she whispered.
“Maybe he works for the park and is playing some kind of special part,” said Sean.
“But what if he’s not playing a part? What if this is for real?” said Reece then added. “Anyway, the Professor said this wasn’t a park.”
“So, what is it?”