Eden (21 page)

“He says the dumbest shit, right?” They share a hearty laugh.

When they come to the next clearing, Noah is surprised and delighted by what he discovers. He looks to the heavens, unable to believe the good fortune to have found such an unexpected comfort for his weary companions. What lies before them is a cluster of thermal pools, steaming in the late afternoon sun, a vision that is as surreal as it is sublime.

Mia looks to Noah, her eyes wide with excitement. “Are those what I think they are?”

Noah nods. “They sure are.”

His affirmation produces a high-pitched squeal from Mia, who bolts toward the steaming pools. Noah is quick to catch up to her, calling for her to wait until he checks the temperature of the water. He dips his knife in, and the blade projects a hologram in perfect digital clarity: 40º C.

“Forty degrees centigrade,” Noah announces the obvious.

Mia closes one eye and bites her bottom lip. “104 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s okay, right?”

“Okay? That’s perfect!”

Within moments they hear the hoots and hollers of the others, practically having to pinch themselves at what they see before them. They shake their heads in wonder at the sight of the naturally heated pools set amidst a marvelous garden of green ferns and soft patches of moss. It is a welcome reward for the tired travelers after the trials and tragedies of recent days. As they reach the pools, as if choreographed, everyone unties their shoes and loses their socks, rolling their trousers up to their knees, before plunging their stiff anchors for a long hot soak. A cacophony of joyous laughter rings out across their sanctuary.

Before long, several strip down to their skivvies and submerge themselves in the misty pool. It is during this time that Max wades to the middle of the pool and gazes eastward. “Am I crazy, or is that a signal flare off in the distance?”

Noah leaps from the pool, grabbing his binoculars for closer inspection. Meanwhile, the chatter has grown to a fever pitch. Some wonder aloud if this is the moment that they have all been waiting for. Noah says nothing as he scours the countryside, looking for any other signs of human activity.

“I will go out to the source of the flare and see what this all about,” he says finally.

“I’ll come with you,” Hiroshi volunteers.

But Noah declines his offer. “No. Stay here with the others and set up camp. I’ll take Max with me, in case we need to climb up to where that flare was fired.”

“Okay,” Hiroshi agrees.

Evelyn pulls herself out from the soak and walks toward Noah, who is preparing for the hike ahead. Her gaze never wavers from the red flare burning bright in the sky.

“Do you think it could be our rescue?” she asks.

“I can’t be certain Eve, but whatever it is, it’s human contact and hopefully our rescue.” He smiles reassuringly.

“Yes.” Evelyn nods and smiles back at him. “Hopefully.”

Chapter 15

Max methodically packs the gear he will need for the hike against a moving backdrop of steam and vapor trails that drift through the clearing like dry ice in the open air. The mood among the others is electric as anticipation builds — this could be the end of their plight. His smile beams like a lighthouse in the fog, even as his sister whispers annoying questions into his ear, questions he’s trying to ignore. He checks and then rechecks his pack.

“Are you listening to me?” Mia demands.

“What?” snaps Max.

Mia shakes her head in frustration, and repeats herself. “So are we cool with what we talked about today? Do you understand?” She speaks slowly and deliberately, over-enunciating every word, which she often does when talking to her brother.

Her eyes are narrow and fierce and burn a hole into Max’s chest, or so it seems, as he jumps in the air and barks in reply: “What the actual fuck, Mia? Can’t you see I’m busy right now? I don’t have time for your crazy bullshit, and stop talking to me like I’m a goddamn child!”

Now it was Mia’s turn to lose focus. During her brother’s rant, her attention had been drawn to someone else, someone with perfectly synchronized waving arms reminiscent of her favorite maestro, Gustavo Dudamel. Her eyes drift back to Max and she flashes a devilish smile, ignoring his tantrum, and slowly backing away, saying nothing more.

This only infuriates Max further. “Oh, so now you’re leaving? No goodbye? Good luck? Nothing?” He shakes his head in loathing. “Fuck me.”

Mia turns her back on her brother. “You’ll be just fine you big baby!” she says to herself.

*************

Walking alongside Noah, Max is overjoyed that he is no longer in the company of his sister. He is barely able to contain his excitement. “So do you think this is it?”

Noah shrugs. “I can’t be certain, but whoever shot that flare is human.” His tone grows more serious. “Now, I want you to listen to me carefully Max. Since we have no idea who these people may be, I want you to hold back upon our arrival and wait for my signal. Do not come forward until you see me give you the go ahead. That will be
after
I determine that these people pose no threat to us. Understood?”

“Yes, I understand,” he replies tersely.

Noah shoots him a puzzled look, and Max is quick to apologize. “I’m sorry, it’s not you. You just reminded me of something my sister said earlier. She drives me nuts!”

“So I’ve noticed. You two make quite an odd pair.”

“Yeah, no shit. She’s a mystery that one.”

Noah nods. “That’s a fair assessment.”

Max’s eyes light up. “Speaking of my sister. I have to ask you something.” He pauses awkwardly, searching for the right words before finally blurting, “You know what she can do, don’t you?”

Noah tilts his head at Max and smiles thinly. “Has she told you what we talked about?”

“No.” He laughs humorlessly. “She doesn’t tell me anything and when she does I have no idea what the hell she is talking about anyway. I just figured you did when you made her your scout.” His tone has an envious edge. “And then I knew for sure, yesterday.”

“Yesterday?”

“Yeah, you alerted us to run
before
the landslide actually happened, remember?”

“Ah, of course. Well, we should be thankful she warned me when she did; I’m not sure if any of us would have made it if she hadn’t.”

Max lets out a long sigh. “I don’t know… I guess.”

“You and your sister have been through a lot these past few days, and I understand the anger you feel about the loss of your parents, but misdirecting it at your sister would be a mistake. She is devastated about what happened to your family and she’s more fragile than you think.”

“Wow! She got to you, didn’t she?” Max laughs aloud and looks to the sky, incredulously. “You of all people.... Look, I don’t mean to be disrespectful, because honestly, I think you’re awesome, but don’t let my sister’s Jedi mind tricks get inside your head. She’s a good actress, believe me.”

“I am under no spell, I can assure you; and yes, I realize that she is not as innocent as she likes to portray herself. But what I
am
certain of is that she has a remarkable ability. And because of that, we need to protect her. You must never tell anyone of her secret. Are we clear?”

Protection?
Max thinks,
that’s a laugh. If anyone needs protection it’s us.
“Yeah, okay, I won’t say a word,” he promises, raising his right hand to God, mockingly.

“Good. So has anyone else noticed what you did before the landslide?”

“Not that I know of. It happened so fast and with all the chaos, I don’t think it registered with anyone. The only person who could have noticed would have been Alice, but she’s a little oblivious, if you hadn’t noticed.”

Noah shakes his head no. “I hadn’t, but I trust you would know better than I.”

They ascend an elevated pitch of large slate tiles that appear remarkably like an ancient staircase. When they reach the top, Noah again inspects the surrounding area. “There!” He points, handing Max the binoculars. “Take a look, do you see the smoke?”

Max scans the horizon. “I do! What do you think?”

“I don’t know, but let’s go find out.”

They descend the hillside and enter a dense patch of forest. The light barely pokes through the canopy, making visibility poor and slowing their pace.

“Tell me something else, Max. The day of the tsunami. How exactly did that play out between you and Mia?”

Max’s eyes double in size. “What, she didn’t tell you?”

“We discussed it, but it was all rather vague.”

“Vague? Yeah, get used to that.” He scratches his chin, grown thick with dark stubble. “Where do I begin? It was like a dream. After I saw you charging up the hill carrying Jeremy, and that massive wave about to crush you both, I hightailed it back around the bend, and as I was running, I saw this rope come down from out of nowhere. That’s when I heard Mia yelling for me to grab on to the rope and climb up. I just did what she said, and after I scaled about forty feet or so, there she was, just standing there. Which totally reminds me of this one time, when she...”

“Max,” Noah interjects. “Finish this story first, please.”

“Right, sorry. So then she led me down this gnarly path through the trees, until we reached the other side of the hill in this small clearing. That’s when she told me to anchor the rope, which I did. Oh, and this whole time, Mia was talking to herself, and I kept being like
who are you talking to?
and she just ignored me, which is typical I guess, unless she was giving me an order.” Max ends his story with a shrug. “It was weird man.”

“Fascinating… so did you throw out the line?”

“No, Mia did. That was strange, too. She kept looking back at me and taking a couple steps one way and then a couple of steps the opposite way. And I asked her,
Why are you looking at me?
And that’s when she said,
I’m not looking at you dipshit.
Those were her words. But I’m telling you dude, she was looking right at me. Anyways, she finally threw the line down and she didn’t even say goodbye. All she said was,
I was never here, play the hero.
And the next thing I knew, you were standing in front of me.”

“I see. Well. That is very interesting indeed.”

“Interesting? I don’t know… I think it’s weird, personally. I’m just glad you’ve seen it for yourself, because honestly I thought I was losing my shit.” Max twirls his index finger in a circular motion at the side of his head for effect.

Noah chuckles. “Yes, I could see how this all seems a little crazy to you. I’m curious — has she told you about the vision she has had about you?”

“Yeah, I mean, she tried anyway. When we were by the lake today during our break she started telling me about it, but the second I heard it was snowing, I was like,
why are you telling me this now
?
So I blew it off and caught some righteous rays. I’ll talk to her about it later when we get home.”

Noah hears a sound behind them and realizes they are not alone. He slyly signals to Max, directing him to hide behind a massive Pohutukawa tree, as he does the same. With their backs pressed against the wall of wood, they wait patiently for the intruder to reach them. At the soft shuffle of feet and a branch cracking underfoot, Noah peeks around the giant trunk. When he does, he is relieved but certainly not surprised, to see who is walking toward them.

Following Noah’s lead Max turns away from the tree and is immediately annoyed. “Mia?” his voice booms through the forest. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

Initially startled, Mia quickly shifts to defiance, putting her hands on her hips. “You guys are going the wrong way. Follow me.”

Max turns to Noah, hoping for disapproval, but only gets a shrug in return. He watches in contempt as Noah falls in line behind his sister, who has already started blazing a new trail. The two of them disappear into the forest. Dejected, he shuffles after them, following several paces behind. They cut through the woods, and after a short while, they reach a clearing. When Max emerges, he sees a wide expanse of black peaks and sloped grasslands that feel spongy underfoot. Patches of trees lay between piles of stacked rock, a landscape of stark beauty.

When they reach the top of a long meandering hill, Mia announces, “Okay, we’re close now. They should be just over there,” she points, “beyond those patches of trees.”

“Who’s they?” questions Max, appearing more devil than saint, his hair poking out from the sides of his red and white knitted cap.

“I dunno… them?” she replies, refusing to make eye contact.

“Wait. You don’t know? Bullshit.”

“No. I don’t.” She shoots him a look that could kill.

Max doesn’t flinch and glares back at her before Noah diffuses them. “Here take these.” He hands Max the binoculars. “I need you to climb up to that landing,” he says, motioning to a squat ragged hill as black as coal off to their right. “Don’t reveal your location and wait for my signal. Mia will be coming with me.”

Max fumes quietly, and gives his sister a parting glare before turning his back on both of them and sprinting away. He tries to focus on the task at hand, but is preoccupied with annoyance at his sister’s meddling. This is uncharted territory for Max, who has always been the one at front and center, while his sister gladly hid in his shadow; but now it seems the whole world has been flipped and he struggles to find his place in it. He takes out his mounting frustration on the hillside, running briskly up the rocky slope. He finds an easy path through a narrow corridor, and when he reaches the top, he hunches over and finds cover in a series of boulders stacked on top of each other like a prehistoric dung heap. With darkness less than an hour away, Max looks through the binoculars to see Noah and Mia walking toward the fire.