Emergence (Eden's Root Trilogy) (29 page)

Surprised, Fi thanked him before she even thought about it.

“Don’t thank me, Marie,” Silas scowled. “Far as I’m concerned, you still ain’t one of us.”

------------- Fi ------------

Fi hovered over the tangle of blankets that made up her shared bed with Sara.
Her friend’s light snores assured her that she was deep asleep. Holding her breath, she worked the Mountain Dew bottle from Sara’s fingers. When she woke, she’d be livid, Fi knew. But she couldn’t help herself. Even though she’d agreed to let Sara take the risk of this mission, she just couldn’t. Maybe it was the lifeline to Asher that drew her. Maybe it was because she still felt like she was in charge, even though Sara was there to protect Luke…and her.

When they’d discussed it earlier that evening, Sara had
been adamant. “You can’t! Asher would kill you…if you didn’t get caught and killed first.”

S
he was right. Fi knew that. But still she’d argued that a fussy baby made the best excuse for a late-night outing. In the end, Fi had feigned acquiescence and assured Sara that she would let her deliver the message in a bottle. It was the only way that she could get Sara to relax enough to sleep.

“
Be right back,” she murmured as she slipped out the door. The moment she stepped outside, the adrenaline hit her, rushing through her limbs like an old friend. She shivered and adjusted Luke’s carrier. Fortunately, he was as dead asleep as Sara, or the whole thing would be for nothing.

The
night air was so frigid that she could feel her breath crystallize on her scarf the moment it left her lips. The thought of the colonists huddled together for warmth in their prison made her sick. Her rage bubbled up, swirling to join the adrenaline in her blood’s most familiar cocktail. It steeled her.

She walked with care as her eyes adjusted.
Weak moonlight sifted over the land like dust, glimmering along edges: an inch of boulder here, a yard of clearing there. She made her way west, skirting the Lobos guarding the cliff on her way to her planned drop point. Every cracking twig made her stop, her breath wheezing through gritted teeth. Still, the only sounds were the rushing river and a few lonely night birds. She picked her way to the cliff’s edge, glancing upstream. Nothing stirred. At her chest, Luke snored lightly.
Perfect.

S
he drew the soda bottle from Luke’s sling and opened it. She crouched carefully and gathered pebbles from the broken rock along the cliff. Her fingers ached with the cold as she tried to thread the pebbles into the bottle. A few slipped from her fingertips, clattering and bouncing down the cliff face.
Crap,
she thought, her head swiveling.
Just go!

She tried again and this time a handful of the pebbles slid into the bottle and nestled a
gainst her rolled up message. She hoped it was enough to make sure it would get downstream. Her hands shook harder, imagining what would happen if the Lobos saw the bottle first. She resealed it, stepped back, and chucked it with all her might over the river.

She
was listening for the splash when a branch snapped behind her. She leapt behind a tree and reached for the tab on her skirt, her free hand clutching at Luke.
Please don’t make a sound
, she prayed.
Please, Luke. Please, not now!
Despite her silent begging, Luke stirred…and then sneezed.

“Marie!”
Silas’ form melted from the darkness. “What the hell are you doing out here in the middle of the night?”

Her heart leapt into her throat.
Not Silas…
The inky night did nothing to hide the wink of moonlight off Silas’ ever-present AK-47. Her free arm tightened around Luke, but all she could truly feel was the fabric tab pinched between her fingertips. She scrambled to remember her cover story. “Uh…it’s Luke. He um…he wouldn’t settle, and I didn’t want to wake Nona’s whole family. She’s done enough for us already, sir.”

“Sir?
Well, aren’t you the polite little mouse.” Silas circled her, his teeth gleaming as his lips curled. “Yeeeeeeeesssss. A polite little mouse….”

Every fiber of her being was tuned to the guns…his…hers.
She was dying to rip her skirt away and draw, but she was frozen. She couldn’t risk it. She couldn’t risk Luke.
But something is definitely wrong with Silas
, she thought, torn.
He’s acting weird and we’re all alone. I can’t risk that either!
Her fingers clenched and flexed with indecision. Luke stirred again and whined. She backed away from Silas. “Sir, please. You’re scaring him.”

“Am I?”
Silas’ leer widened. “Are you sure he’s the one that’s scared?”

Fi grabbed the tab.

“Waaaaaaaaahhhh!” Luke’s wail ripped the night air and Silas leapt back. Seizing the opportunity, Fi fled back toward Nona’s.

“I’m watching you, little mouse!” Silas called.
His laughter chased her through the forest, snapping at her heels.

On the second turn in the path, she tripped and nearly fell into Sara, who caught her. “Run, Sara!”
She grabbed Sara’s hand and dragged her, still pumping her legs, putting Silas’ words behind her as fast as she could.

“What happened
, Fi?”

“Just run!”

The two pelted through the dark to Nona’s. Fi shushed Luke frantically as they slipped into their room. She collapsed to the floor and started to sob silently, rocking her fussing son in her tight embrace.
What was she doing?
What if Silas had raised the alarm? Or worse, what if he’d attacked? What if she hadn’t been able to reach her .22?
The terrible questions piled up in her chest like stones, squeezing the air from every corner of her body. Each breath grew harder to draw, the air whistling through her tight throat.

Sara
grabbed her face. “Fi, calm down!” she whispered. “It’s ok. We’re safe! Please, you have to breathe!”

“No, no, Sara
,” she gasped. “I can’t…do this! What…am I doing? What…if something…happens to Luke? I can’t! Why…am I doing this?” Her whispers came between gulps of air as she struggled to gain control. Sara was right. They were safe. And she had to be quiet for them to stay that way! She sucked deep breaths and fought back her tears.

“Jesus, Fi.
I should wring your freaking neck for sneaking out on me like that.” Sara collapsed beside her. “Asher was right. You’re reckless.”

Fi sniffed
, still working to take deep breaths. “What? When did he say that?”

“Y
ou mean besides all the time?”

Fi
managed a wan smile.

“He pulled me aside the night before we went undercover.
I remember being surprised because he always says you’re reckless. But you are reckless. So am I. It’s part of our bond.”

“
Sisters in stupidity,” Fi muttered.

“C’mon, i
f anyone can understand it’s me. Ash was just worried that you were feeling especially stressed now with Kiara kidnapped. He said he didn’t know what you would do, but that I had to watch you like a hawk because you weren’t going to stop yourself.”

“Shit,” Fi sighed.
“That’s pretty…real of him.” Now that the panic was leaving her, the familiar exhaustion was taking its place. Her legs felt like they were made of air, they were so weak.

Sara slid her arm around Fi’s shoulder.
“Look, it turned out ok this time, right? You gave Silas the cover story…fussy baby wakes household…”

Fi nodded to the now content Luke at her breast.
“Yeah, but do you think he bought it? I don’t like the way he always seems suspicious of us. I was sure I blew it.”

“W
hen I woke up and realized you were gone, I caught up quick. I’m sure he didn’t see you toss the bottle. He was just messing with you, Fi. Trying to scare you. The only reason I worry about him is because he’s a sicko.”

“Thank God.
” Fi exhaled hard. “Look, I’m sorry, Sara. I shouldn’t have done it alone, but I just…something’s wrong with me. I know I shouldn’t take risks, especially with Luke. I feel like a crazy person sometimes. I mean, I’m like, ‘Why are you doing this, Fi?’”

“Why
?” Sara echoed, squeezing her shoulders. “Because you are crazy, Fi. And you’re good.” She grabbed a blanket from the floor and drew it around the two of them. “You’re crazy good, Fi. That’s why.”

Fi sh
ook her head. “But I can’t risk my baby this way. You’re right. Asher’s right. This is insane.”

“
Yes, it would be normally.” Sara’s voice grew thick. “But the problem is that these assholes have your other baby in a cage.”

They settled into their blankets, shifting to offer each other the most comfortable position without words.
They didn’t need words anymore. Sara’s every shift and cough meant something to Fi by now. Just like it had been with Kiara those two long summers in the wilds.

She’d spooned her little sister even when she herself had lain awake for hours, cradling her and shifting with her, like birds in formation, whenever she’d roll over or
fret. Her heart ached at the thought of having Kiara back in her arms, sleepy and warm. She yawned as she focused on her sister, holding her spirit close, and slipped into sleep.

Hours later Fi awoke to Sara shaking her gently. “Fi, wake up. I’ve got it.”

Her
eyes fluttered open. Sara hovered over her in the dim dawn light. “Uuufff, Sar. Couldn’t we have slept a little more?”

“You’ll be as awake as humanly possible when I tell you my idea.”

“Idea for what
?”

“For how to keep in touch with the others
. And for you to see Kiara.”

Fi
sat up like a shot. “What? Tell me!”

“Well, while you were sleeping off last night’s craziness, I couldn’t sleep.
I knew we couldn’t keep risking the message in a bottle method, and I knew there had to be some way we could get to the colonists.” Sara’s voice grew excited. “I think it may actually be perfect.”

“What, Sar
a? What? Tell me!”

“Ministry, Fi
. We can say we want to minister to the colonists. Carter’s always saying he will let them stay if they convert, right? But no one is allowed in to actually encourage that.”

Wow.
Fi thought about it through her sleepy haze.
That’s…a good idea.
“But, Sara, you said it yourself. He’s not letting anyone in there. Why would he let us?”

“Because we’re the colony’s
most popular Truthers, and it will look bad if he doesn’t. He’s going to be told that we’ve done a lot of ministry before.” She pretended to blow on her nails and brushed them on her shirt.

“What do you mean it will look bad, Sar
a? To whom? Told by whom?”

Sara grinned.
“Sorry that I jumped ahead on this plan without your go-ahead, but I spent breakfast chatting with one very enthusiastic supporter of the idea.”

Fi frowned and then it dawned on her.
Damn. This was a good idea.
“Nona.”

“Bingo!”
Sara laughed, pleased with herself. “She’s a true believer. If she goes to Carter and insists that he let us minister, he’ll have to do it. We can sneak them supplies and we can send messages back and forth through Darryl. Believe me, it’s not hard to sneak into and out of the prison, if they aren’t looking for you. I’ve done it.”

Fi’s mind drifted as Sara prattled on happily.
Luke stirred and she lifted him to her. Pressing her lips to his neck, she smiled.
You’re finally going to meet your big sister.

----------- Asher -----------

“I think I see something!” Sean’s voice was excited.
“Yes! Do you see that green spot?”

Asher squinted against the glare of the early winter morning.
They’d been canvassing the riverbanks at dawn for a week, waiting for word from the girls. So far there had been nothing and he felt like he was losing his mind. Sean kept telling him that they would fire their emergency flare if needed, but that did nothing to quell the sickness in Asher’s gut. He followed Sean’s lead as they made their way over the icy boulders and branches lining the riverbank and then he stopped.

Suddenly Sean
leapt forward, swallowing his shout of joy. They rushed as quietly as they could toward the neon plastic bottle lodged against the shore. Sean grabbed it and did a silent, awkward jig when he saw the piece of paper curled inside. They scrambled up the bank and back into the cover of the woods.

“Open it, open it, Sean!” Asher was breathless.
They were alive!
They’d sent the message, just as they’d planned. He couldn’t think. Lightheaded, he sank onto the nearest boulder.

Sean ripped off his gloves and unrolled the paper.
“We are in and we’re fine. They’ve accepted us and shown us around the settlement. Our notes are below. So far, we don’t have any plan for stalling Carter, but we’re working on it.”
As Sean went on, his voice slowed and trailed off.
“I’m sorry to say that in order to be accepted, Sara offered herself at our Truther ‘baptism.’”