Chapter 14
Will helped me unload a few crates of fresh veggies for Mrs. H. and bring them into the store. In return, she made us sandwiches for the road, filled up a couple of thermoses with coffee, and supplied us with enough turkey jerky to keep us and the wolves in snack foods for a few days. Bo and Pappy could hunt for themselves, but they’d be bedding down with me, and I wanted to be sure I had food for them.
The Johnsons kept their distance, staying busy barking orders at the others and collecting inventory on each person’s shipment. Stanton residents basically trusted each other, but they wanted to be sure to avoid any possibility that some supply would be found missing and then have to deal with an accusation of thievery.
I checked the straps on the open bed trailer one more time while Will unhitched the horses. We’d be leaving Shiloh and Phoenix behind for Sam to pick up later. The plan was to hitch our cargo onto the caravan. Rudy Sinclair had agreed to provide the main truck for our trailers since Sam had contributed his latest batch of biodiesel for the trip.
Will and I would have to ride in the back. There was enough room alongside the crates for us to sit comfortably or even stretch out if need be—an uncomfortable proposition for the long haul in more ways than one, I thought. But watching Will hop nimbly off the back of the trailer, his muscles all sinewy and taut; I thought about the close quarters in a new light and couldn’t help the smile that found my lips.
Everything was all set. Now, all we had to do was to wait for everyone to take their assigned places in line.
I handed Will a piece of jerky and tore a bite off for myself, chewing hard. I tucked the bag in my pack. “So, are you excited about maybe finding your father?” I asked, leaning back on the trailer and crossing one foot over as I chewed for all I was worth, ignoring the ache in my jaw.
Will joined me and took a moment to respond. “I’ve been searching for so long; I’ve learned not to get my hopes up.” His voice sounded sad. I touched his arm briefly, wanting only to offer comfort, but the warmth under my fingertips sent a tingle of electricity up my arm. I let go and my hand dropped to my side. If he noticed, he didn’t react.
“It must have been hard being alone all this time,” I said.
“You get used to it.”
“Why didn’t you contact your aunt? You could be living in luxury with her under the protection of the government right now.”
Will chuckled in a way that made it clear he wasn’t amused. “After all the trouble my dad caused for her, I doubt she’d want me living in the Presidential suite with her. Besides, I’d rather be wandering around hungry and alone than have to live my life under a microscope.”
“I know what you mean.” A sudden and sharp ache filled my chest at the thought of losing the way of life we had made for ourselves living here in the hills. No matter how challenging it might be at times, we always got by, and at least we had our freedom. If the Industry ever caught up with us, those days would be gone.
Rudy’s deep Southern drawl interrupted my thoughts. “You two gonna’ sit around all mornin’ yakking, or help me get this rig hooked up?” He showed a mouthful of straight white teeth through full lips.
Rudy had moved up to the Northeast sector with his wife and son after floods, hurricanes, and tidal surges had more or less turned the southern states into swamplands. “It’s not even 6:00 a.m. and it’s already as hot as a bowl of Cajun jambalaya,” he said, wiping his brow. Despite his complaints, he seemed well adapted to the heat of the summer months and was built like one of the bulls he kept on his farm. The small slaughter house and butcher shop he ran provided enough beef to support the locals. With Sam’s help he had built a solar barrier over the pasture to protect the cows. Rudy’s farm was now the largest source of beef cattle in town, an industry that was just recovering from a disease that had all but wiped out every cow from here to the Midwest. Anyone who wanted an animal slaughtered and dressed, Rudy was the man.
Will helped him hook the freezer trailer up behind his box car, and then added our flatbed trailer onto the end. By the time the sun crested the buildings, a long line of vehicles and tandem trailers were set and ready to go. The hundred mile trip would likely take us all morning. The goal was to get there before the zenith and make it under the solar barrier that sheltered the city before the midday sun could come to full effect.
I hopped up into the little corner seat I’d made of crates and looked through the crowd for Garnet. I spotted her dad’s van and wondered why she hadn’t come looking for me. It had been over a month since I’d last seen her. As if in answer to my question, she poked her head out the van window and waved wildly.
“Hey, girl!” She called over the buzz of last minute conversations and humming engines. The van was third in line behind the Johnsons’ massive tractor trailer truck.
Garnet’s voice carried the three trucks back to where Will and I sat atop the stacked crates. I waved but wasn’t willing to yell back and forth to have a real conversation. “I’ll catch up with you at the rest stop!” I called.
Having no such inhibitions, she hung half her body out the window and yelled out to me. “I can’t wait! I’ve been dying to see you.” I couldn’t hear him, but I could see her father’s large hand pulling her back into the van. Garnet’s shrill voice rose above the rest. “Lay off the caffeine, Dad!” She stuck her head out again and turned her gaze back to me, her long dark hair trailing out the window, her face an elfish mask of trouble as the van pulled away. “I’ll see you later, Lily!” I waved back.
Rudy followed in the long line of trucks and trailers, all moving at a snail’s pace to avoid cracked pavement, sections where the road had crumbled to dirt, and the potholes that littered the road out of town. Will and I settled into our little corner of the open bed trailer as the smell of biodiesel and a cloud of dust filled the air.
“It was really nice of your uncle to give me these clothes.” Will sat with his knees up and his arms wrapped around them, his hands clutching his wrists as the truck bounced along.
“Sam’s kind of gruff sometimes, but he’s got a big heart.”
“With the way he talks about my aunt and the government, I would think I’d be the last person on earth he’d want to help.”
“Sam knows better than most people that you can’t help who you’re related to.” The thought of Sam made my heart dip. This trip was more than an adventure or a supply run, and I wasn’t about to forget it. Sam’s life depended on my success or failure in bargaining for the drugs that could save him. He’d already made so many sacrifices for me, I couldn’t let him down. I couldn’t help but think about how Sam’s life would have been different if he hadn’t taken in Zeph and me.
“Besides, I think you remind him of Jackson…my cousin,” I said slowly. “He’d be a little older than you right now.”
“What happened to him?” Will kept his eyes steady on mine, his voice neutral as if steeling himself against the sad story that he knew was coming.
“Aunt Beth got sick a little while after Zeph and I came to live with her and Sam. She was gone in a few months and then Jackson got sick, too. At first we thought it was another virus, but when the rest of us didn’t get sick, we figured it was something else. The doctor from the next town said that it was cancer and that the deaths weren’t related, but Sam blames himself—and the government—for restricting medical care to just the cities. Without access to a proper hospital and medical attention, there’s no way of knowing if they might have been saved.”
I looked out over the pasture and green hills to the thick forests beyond, wondering if Sam would have done things differently if Zeph and I hadn’t been part of the equation, or if he would have stood by his principles regardless. It was hard to imagine him giving up and moving into the city, but if it was the only way to save his family, he probably would have done it. The thought that turning me and Zeph over to the Industry might have saved his wife and son drove home how much I owed him.
&nbs
p; “You’re very lucky to have someone like Sam in your life.” Will’s voice had a wistful tone and I nodded acknowledgement.
“I know. That’s why I’m going to do whatever it takes to help him.” Our eyes met in a moment of common understanding. We passed the town line sign reading STANTON, and watched it grow smaller in the distance.