Luca (25 page)

Now that the full extent of Moses’ madness has been revealed, Jedd breathes deeply in and out, trying to relax. “Back in the City, they have weapons and machines that you can’t even conceive of.”

Moses drops the tarp over the boxes and laughs. “A few months ago, I sent a wave of spies east. Some of them made it through the Divide. Just like you. A couple of them even came back. They’ve seen the people of the cities. And guess what? They're weak. They’ve written us off, stopped watching their backs. The time to attack is now.” Moses walks closer to face Jedd. “She’s a fine woman, the one you brought. What’s her name?”

Jedd flings himself forward, straining against the ropes, pulling the heavy plastic box with him a few inches. “If you’ve done anything—”

Leaning in, Moses grabs his rifle and swings the heavy butt against Jedd’s chin, throwing him back. “Don’t you see, Jedd? You're one of them now. One of the City dwellers. You betrayed me when you ran off. But now you’ve come back.” He stands to leave. “I can’t help but think there’s a reason.”

Jedd sits with his jaw hanging open, blood running from his mouth. Adrenaline surging, he pulls on the ropes and lunges toward Moses. Now he understands. Moses isn’t going to let them go on to Denver. Moses care that everyone is going to die. The only thing on Moses’ mind is revenge.

Falling back against the box, Jedd tries to make sense of it all.

Moses found a huge cache of twentieth century weapons. He’s hatched a plan to seek vengeance on the people of the cities. He’s put together a ragtag army. They’re ready to march against the City and unleash a pandemic with some old weaponized small pox agent.

He’s also got Ricky and Qaara tied up in the camp. There’s no telling what he’ll do to them. What he’s already done.

Ricky’s been here before. He understands the Zone and how the Family operates under the dictatorship of Moses.

But not Qaara.

How long will she survive?

He has to make a decision. For Qaara’s sake. For his own sake.

“Wait.” Jedd clears his throat. “Maybe I was wrong, Moses. Maybe I should have stayed with the Family and never left. Maybe I can make it up to you. Help you. Maybe
we
can help you.”

“We?”

“Me and Ricky. And Qaara.”

“So that’s her name.” Moses scratches his chin. “I couldn't get her to say a word.
Qaara
. I like the sound of that. Foreign. Exotic. What can you and the others do for me?”

“A lot. We’ve lived in the City and the Fringe. We know the way in, the way out and everywhere in between.”

“What about Qaara?”

“She’s a gold mine.” Jedd feels the shift in Moses’ thinking. "An insider. One of them. She’s smart. Knows all the big players. With her help, we can get you access to the highest levels. Hit ‘em where it’ll hurt the most.”

Moses waves his hand. “I can’t trust you. You’ll say anything to save your life.” He turns to leave.

“Wait!” Jedd struggles against the ropes. “I’ve come back, Moses. Back to you. I’ve never forgotten how you saved my life all those years ago. I owe it to you. Give me a chance.”

“What do you need?”

“Not much. For starters, the three of us need to be together. So we can talk and make plans. We need to know what your resources are. How many guns? How many people?”

Moses turns back to the front flap of the tent. “I’ll think it over.”

36

BRIGHT FUTURE

They’ll never make it.

The multitude of voices is too far away. For two days, they’ve been following it over each successive hill. The voices, thousands of them, have food and water and shelter. Surely they will share it with the girls.

Luca knows the direction but not the distance. She hasn’t found them yet, and time is running out.

The big Voice in the sky is closer now, always in the background, but always just beyond reach. As if vaguely aware of Luca but focused in another direction.

If she can get its attention, make direct contact, maybe it will help.

Luca stares up. The rain and wind have stopped. Closing her eyes and gathering her strength, she throws her mind into the sky, bright red at sunrise after the typhoon, to touch the Voice, full of expectation.

When she makes contact, she is sucked into a bubble at the center of a raging storm. For an instant, she floats in the presence of other voices, just on the other side of the thin film separating her from them, billions of them, beyond number, beyond comprehension. Extending her hand, she touches the side of the bubble, pressing her finger through. It explodes into sound and color. Movement spirals over and through her. As if the Voice has swallowed her, hungry and searching, squeezing and probing. Rampaging through her thoughts and memories.

What are you looking for?
she asks.

No answer.

The Voice pulls her in deeper, its tendrils extending and hardening into a tight grip. She struggles to free her mind from its grasp. In a final effort, she pushes the Voice away.

It lets go.

The sound of her own screaming wakes her, and she finds herself wallowing in the mud, body feverish. Zero and Giraffe and the other girls stand in a ring staring down, eyes wide.

“Another voice?” Zero says.

Luca nods, unable to speak.

After a rest, they are on the move again.

What if they never find food and shelter?

At last, Luca has no choice. She opens her mind to her old friend, Rika.

We need your help. Just a little food and water. A place to rest. And then we’ll leave.

Rika doesn’t answer right away, even though Luca knows she’s listening. Silence fills the space between them.

And then the answer.

Come. I’m waiting.

Luca stands. “The town where I grew up. It’s not far. I have a friend there. She can help us.”

The group is too tired to ask questions.

Zero nods. “Let’s go.”

“That way,” Luca says. “Just a little farther.”

They follow her through heavy brush up a long hill, emerging scratched and bleeding from the thorns. The girls are tired and weak, especially the younger ones. They haven’t eaten for a day and they don’t have much energy left.

Luca urges them to keep going.

At the top, they stumble onto the cracked remains of a paved road and follow it through heavy fog in the direction of the sun until Luca sees what she’s looking for, an enormous dead cedar tree, its trunk stripped of bark and bleached white, branches outstretched like arms. It stands on the side of the road.

“Just like I remember it,” she says. “Not much farther.”

The road narrows and slopes down into the skeleton of a town. Abandoned houses with collapsed outer walls dot the fields, exposing the honeycomb structure of inner spaces. Bushes taller than a man sprout out of living rooms and kitchen floors. Wild dogs scatter into the gaps between buildings. Collapsed tile roofs angle down to the ground. Concrete poles lean at odd angles, cables still attached and drooping.

Entering the town, they pass under a dirty steel arch with words written in Japanese, Chinese and English
: Nuclear Energy for a Bright Future
.

Walking the length of the main street to the other end of the town, no one says a word, as if moving through a cemetery.

“You have a friend who still lives here? Where are the people?” Zero says. “Looks like the place has been abandoned for years."

“She’s here.” Luca swings her gaze from right to left.

Zero adjusts the pack on his back. “Are you sure she’ll be able to help us, give us food and water?”

Luca nods but doesn’t tell Zero she’s not sure. Not sure that Rika will share anything. Not sure it’s even safe for them to be in the town with Rika.

Movement draws her gaze across an open field to her right. She halts.

Images from her childhood flood in. The house where she lived as a baby. The garden on the side with the rich brown soil where they grew tomatoes, carrots, squash, spinach, onions. Playing tag with her father among the peach trees in the yard. Catching fireflies on summer nights. The old tin bucket of water her father kept for when they lit fireworks. Swinging her legs off the front porch on hot summer afternoons with a glass of
mugicha
in her hand. The salty taste of miso soup and her mother’s
gyoza
.

Her dad with his big white teeth and constant smile.

The porch and garden are gone. Only broken stumps mark the location of the peach orchard. The back of the house has slumped to the ground like a punctured tire. An outside wall is missing, as if cut away by an enormous knife. Luca can see the room upstairs where her mother sang her to sleep.

Small, white blossoms of
dokudami
flowers hug the foundation.

Rika is close.

“Stay here,” Luca says.

Leaving the others on the road, she walks through wet grass and weeds up to her fingertips until her hands find the rusty metal pillar framing half the front door.

It hangs open. Luca steps through into the
genkan
, full of mud, and stares inside at the chaos of abandoned shoes, broken bottles, old newspapers, ripped curtains and tin cans.

“I’m back,” she says.

There’s no reply, but Luca can feel the presence.
Her
presence.

“It took longer than I thought.” Luca leans against the shelf where they used to stack their shoes before entering the house. Her mother’s doll is still there on top, perfectly preserved in its glass case, bright green kimono, delicate porcelain fingers, lips still plump and red under a coat of dust.

You should have come alone. Why did you bring them?

“We need your help.” Luca speaks aloud. “We’re hungry. We walked all night and haven’t eaten anything since yesterday.”

Did you hear the Voice in the sky? You must have. You always were the best listener.

Luca’s knees tremble. She sits on the
genkan
step that goes up onto the main floor of the house. “We don't want any trouble. Just a little food and water.”

It’s coming closer. It will be here soon. I haven’t dared reach out to it. But I’ve felt the power. So have you. It’s looking. Searching.

“Please come out.” Luca searches in the darkness for any movement.

I didn’t burn this house. It always was my favorite place. Your house. Your parents. They loved you, even though you were different. What’s it like to be loved, Luca? I've always wondered.

“We won’t stay long.”

Fingers come into view, sliding around a corner until Luca sees a full hand and then a full arm. A young woman, three years older than Luca, thin and pale, steps out of the shadows, a smile on her face. She walks forward, staring, never taking her gaze off Luca.

Rika.

“You’ve grown,” Rika says.

Luca steps back. “You look—” It’s impossible to lie to someone who can listen to your mind.

“Worse?” Rika nods her head. “It’s hard to be alone for so long. You should never have left me.”

“It’s good to see you again.”

“Really?” Rika stoops to pick up an old porcelain figurine on the floor. “Then why are you scared?”

“I don’t want any trouble. We need your help. The girls are tired and hungry.” Luca motions over her shoulder to the group standing out on the street. "We walked all the way from the Institution.”

“The funny thing is, you and I were never really apart.” Rika drops the figurine and watches it shatter, then she moves across the floor, stepping over scattered garbage. “I've been listening to you for years. Ever since you left me.”

“My mother took me. I had no choice.”

Rika walks out the front door. “You
wanted
to go. You could have stayed with me. I asked you to stay. Begged you. My parents would have taken me to the Institution. But they died. Your parents could have died, too. But you wouldn’t—” She gazes out at the street. “Let’s go meet your friends.”

Luca follows her out the door across the high grass and onto the street.

Zero and Giraffe are standing.

Are these the two men from the Institution that used to beat you?

Luca raises a hand, palm up. “Everyone. This is my friend, Rika.”

“Hello.” Rika bows. “You’ve all walked so far. You must be tired and hungry. I’ll gladly share what I have and give you what you deserve. Follow me.” She looks at Luca and smiles.

They walk down the road for fifty meters and veer off on a dirt path that winds past the ruins of a long row of houses. Most of them have been burnt to the concrete foundations. Only a few are left standing.

“I live over there.” Rika speaks to Zero and points at a single house in a field, painted bright pink. “I stayed after the others left. It's been years since anyone has come to visit.”

“How did you survive on your own?” Zero asks.

“I managed.” Rika motions back to the town. “The people were farmers, so the houses are full of food and seeds. The soil is good. Vegetables are easy to grow."

“What about radiation?” Zero pulls out his Geiger counter and waves it around. It’s mostly silent.

“I can’t do anything about it, so I don’t worry.” Rika motions back in the direction of the main road. “I scavenge canned food and rice from the houses. I collect water from the rains. I have everything I need. I’m happy to share what I have with you.”

These scum don’t deserve to live
, Rika thinks.

They’ve changed,
Luca thinks.
They don’t want to hurt us anymore.

As they approach the house, Luca notices the neat rows of leafy vegetables and the plastic barrels at each corner of the structure with tubes coming down from the roof.

When they get to the house, Rika steps up on the front porch and faces the group. “You can pitch your tents in the yard. The typhoon has blown past, so I doubt it will rain tonight. If it does, feel free to come inside.”

Giraffe eyes the water barrels, licking his lips. “Is it OK if we get a drink?”

“Please do.” Rika points down. “There’s a siphon on the side. I'll work on dinner. Nothing fancy. Just rice and vegetables. With curry.”