Chapter 28
I gasped for breath as I dragged myself onto shore and retched. The taste of sewage and grit filled my mouth. The current had pulled me under twice, and I barely escaped the propellers of the ship tearing my arms off. I glanced around, frantic. No! My pack was gone. I heaved again. Tears choked me more than the foul taste in my throat. How could I have come so far and lost Sam’s medicine? I tried to get my bearings. My skin burned and itched but I tried to hold back the panic and tears that surged to the surface.
Was I on the south bank? I sat up and oriented myself. Not far off, the ship eclipsed the dock. The din of men’s voices filled the night air. Roving lights shown on the scene and dockworkers scurried about, tying off huge ropes and preparing to unload cargo. But what caught my attention was the line of next generation Guardians waiting to board the ship. Six in all, the mechanical giants with their skeletal faces and spider-like legs looked ominous under the bright light. I’d seen pictures of them on Sam’s comp-unit, the government’s latest effort to scare Outsiders into submission. I shivered in the cool night air, my saturated clothes clinging and emanating a definite stench.
I crawled up the embankment, staying as flat to the ground as possible. I didn’t need one of those spotlights shining my way. My nose twitched in disgust. Cleaning up and finding a change of clothes was my first priority.
But where was Will? He should’ve reached shore by now. The thought sent my heart racing again, and my stomach twisted into a knot. His welfare should be the least of my worries. I searched the shore for signs of either Will or my precious pack for another fifteen minutes, far too long with the Guardians milling about the docks and the cold seeping into my bones. I reminded myself that I owed him nothing and that I was much better off without him, and then I took one last look back along the shoreline before I disappeared into the trees.
The town was crawling with government agents in their black uniforms and shaved heads. Guardians roved up and down the main streets. Silently negotiating the town through the shadows and alleyways, I barely made my way unnoticed to the road leading east. I hiked along the main roadside for the next half hour. Feeling cold and filthy, I alternately cursed Will for having gotten me into this mess, and worried about what had become of him. I dodged any lights that came my way. A few autos and low flying drones passed by, but I couldn’t risk being seen, so I hid in the tall grasses along the roadway. If they had heat sensors, maybe they would think I was just another animal.
Father Stavros had given us directions to a Network safe house about a mile outside of Hudson, just far enough away that I would feel I was home free from any Guardians that might be tracking me. I’d committed the directions to memory, but with only the waning moon and the stars to guide me, I wondered how much further the house was. I’d lost my eye-shields in the river along with my pack. Aunt Beth’s locket, thank God, was still securely around my neck. I thought of Sam and disappointment sank to my core, followed by another internal thrashing.
When the sign reading Bright Street appeared, I gave a sigh of relief, but looking down the dark, empty road shrouded in shadows, the irony seemed less than amusing. Clouds rolled past the moon, thrusting me deeper into darkness. Thunder grumbled in the distance. Pavement turned to gravel and the woods closed in. My heart jumped at the night sounds as I glanced around. The sparse, empty houses were awash in patches of pale moonlight that poked out from behind the passing clouds. A breeze carrying the echoes of woodland creatures rustling nearby sent another shiver across my skin. Heavy tree limbs reached out over the road, giving me the sense that I was walking through a tunnel of sharp claws.
I walked another ten minutes and passed several long-condemned houses before I came upon a small cottage covered in ivy and bursting with overgrown shrubbery. It was just as the padre had described it. The windows were dark, but a smokeless chimney reached into the night sky. The entire neighborhood seemed dead and abandoned. Another eerie chill ran along my spine. Seeing the broken lock, I pushed the front door open. The hinges squeaked my arrival.
I called out. “Hello?”
Only the silence called back. I quickly located some candles and a light stick where Father Stavros had said they would be. Holding the candle up, I peered around the room, a living area with dust-covered furnishings and moldy-smelling carpet. It looked as if no one had been there in years. Up the stairs, past the yellowed family pictures hanging on the walls, I found two small rooms, completely empty but for some trash and a musty old mattress. Down the hall there was a third bedroom with an actual bed and an adjoining bathroom.
“Please let there be running water,” I whispered, though I didn’t know why I was whispering. Water sputtered out of the faucet in rusty spurts. “Excellent.” I let it run until it looked clear and then I sniffed for chemicals, “Hmm…well water…there must be some source of electricity,” I said louder this time. I released a sigh of relief at being alone and safe, and then stuck my mouth under the stream and gulped the ice cold water until I’d had my fill.
I ran the bathwater and nearly rejoiced when hot water spilled over my hand. Solar panels on the roof, maybe? Who cared? Father Stavros was a lifesaver. I wondered what other surprises the house might hold. I found more candles and lit a few oil lamps, enough to make the place less spooky and more welcoming.
I hastily undressed and set my horribly smelly clothes into a sink filled with hot water, glad to be free of them. My skin burned and itched from the chemicals and contaminants I’d been exposed to in the river. I removed the corneal lenses I’d been wearing for way too long, and set them in a soap dish filled with water to soak overnight. My eyes felt sore and gritty. I gave my rashy skin a brisk scratching and stepped into the hot bath, sinking down under the water and groaning in ecstasy.
After a thorough scrubbing from head to toe, I emptied the tub and filled it again, adding some bath soap that foamed up and spilled cascading bubbles over the edge. The cabinet was equipped with travel-sized soap, shampoo, a few toothbrushes and toothpaste, and even some bottles of aspirin and disinfectant, as if someone had robbed a drug store and been kind enough to leave behind their bootie.
Despite stewing over losing my pack, I couldn’t resist sinking beneath the bubbles and rinsing the filth out of my hair. I popped up a moment later and laid back to close my eyes, exhaustion taking over. The candlelight, the warm water, and the steamy air had all but lulled me to sleep, when a sound from below reached my ears. I sat up, sloshing water over the edge of the tub, and craned my head toward the doorway. I froze when I heard footsteps on the stairs.
My pulse pounded in my throat. Had the Guardians found me? Was it someone from the Network checking on activity in the house? Or was it Will? My heart leapt at the thought, and then I sank down under the bubbles again. It didn’t matter who it was; I’d been stupid to let my guard down. I had no time to get out of the bath, and whoever was coming down the hall was about to get an eyeful.