PODs (24 page)

Tomorrow I’ll see David. My David
.

Remembering George’s warning, I walked to the kitchen and pulled the box of matches out of the cupboard. Striking a match, I lit the corner of the note and watched the black smoke swirl up and float away. The flames consumed the words that made me so happy, that gave me hope. When the burning yellow flames licked at my fingertips, I dropped the remnants of the paper in the sink and let it burn itself out before washing the ash down the drain.

No evidence. I can’t risk getting caught. Not when I’m so close
.

What do I wear? Black. Need to blend in
.

I dug through my dresser looking for my black jeans and sweater. Maybe it wasn’t necessary, but I was taking every precaution. I’d been warned not to get caught. I didn’t know what would happen if I were caught, and I didn’t want to find out.

I was ready to go at ten o’clock.

I’ll brush my teeth…again. Just to be sure. Perfume? No…wait! Yes. No. It’ll attract mosquitos. I don’t want to be slapping at them the whole time… Are they out now? Is it too cold? Who cares?

Why am I so nervous? It’s David. My David. What if he’s changed? Geez, Eva, it’s only been a few weeks. But still
…

I tried to sit on the couch and wait, but the minutes ticked by so slowly I decided to leave early. I’d wait for him in the field, but I had to get out of the house before I went crazy.

I cringed when the hinges of the back door creaked. It was as if they knew I was doing something I shouldn’t and were giving their warning. I screamed when a figure loomed over me in the dark. His hand darted out and covered my mouth.

“Geez, Eva, I told you not to get caught,” George whispered.

“You scared the crap outta me. What are you doing here?”

“It’s dark. I wanted to walk with you. Make sure you find him okay. Why are you leaving so early?”

“The neighborhood is dark and I was going crazy waiting. I decided to wait at the fence.”

“Dammit, Eva, you can’t do that! Go back inside.” He pushed me through the door, closing it quietly behind him. “We set up the meeting at midnight for a reason. It wasn’t just a time Seth and I drew out of a hat. It wasn’t some romantic gesture.”

“Then what? And don’t talk to me like I’m an idiot. You didn’t tell me there was a reason I should wait until midnight.”

“Yeah, I know. That’s one of the reasons I snuck over. Listen, Eva, this is really important. You and David will have an hour together. One hour…no more. The guards patrol the fence. Seth and I timed them all week and this is the best time for you to meet, but you can’t stay for more than an hour or the guards will find you.”

“I could hide—”

“There’s nowhere to hide. It’s a meadow. There aren’t many trees around—”

“But there’s a weeping willow tree. I can see it from my house.”
I could hide in that if I needed to. I need more time with David. An hour? Just an hour? It’s not enough
.

“You couldn’t make it to the tree if you needed to. It’s too far from the fence. There’s some tall grass, but that’s too risky. You can meet again another night, but tonight it’s an hour. Okay?”

I nodded and blew out a breath, frustrated and more than a little disappointed. Part of me did think meeting David at midnight was romantic. I had visions of us lying in the grass, looking at the stars while we talked all night. Of course, I’d never admit that to George.

At eleven o’clock, most of my neighbors’ lights were out. With no televisions or radios to keep them occupied, most people were in bed early. I paced the living room, twisting my fingers. My knuckles cracked painfully. Each time I passed the clock I looked at it. It didn’t seem to be moving—that’s how slow time was going. I didn’t think it would ever be time to leave.

David. Where is he right now? Is he as excited as I am? My heart is doing weird things and a million butterflies are inside me. I swear if I open my mouth they’ll fly out. Just thinking of him makes it hard to breathe
.

“Are you ready?” George stood and moved toward the door. I got there first.

“I’m more than ready.” I pulled the door open.

No street lamps lit the small road I lived on. The community reserved its wind power and solar energy for homes and businesses, and the dusk-to-dawn curfew made lighting the residential streets unnecessary. The distant yellow glow of the lights surrounding the front gate of the compound gave just enough light for us to see. When the time came, George and I stayed in the shadows, making our way down my road toward the field.

I could see it from my house during the day, but it seemed so far away in the dark. I was glad George was with me. During the day, the meadow was calm and soothing; birds fluttered in the sky, singing to each other. The tall grass swayed gently in the breeze. But at night it was eerie. The darkness blanketed it. I couldn’t see the swaying grass, or watch the squirrels play. The trees lining the road loomed over us, their moon-cast shadows making menacing images on the ground. I wanted to shrink away from them before they snatched me up.

“I’ll walk halfway with you. Then I have to get back before the guards make their sweep in my sector,” George whispered when we’d made it to the edge of the field.

“Okay.” My voice trembled.

We walked through the knee-high grass, holding hands so we didn’t lose each other. The sliver of moon didn’t give us much light.

Geez, George walks like an old man. Can he walk any slower? Hurry, hurry up!

When I was standing in the middle of a sea of inky blackness, George squeezed my hand.

“See that?”

I looked ahead and saw a faint flicker. It looked like a firefly.

“David,” I whispered.

“Just walk straight, Eva. He’ll light a match every so often to keep you on track, but he can’t leave them lit too long, so pay attention.”

I turned and kissed George on the cheek. “Thank you.”

And then I was running. I ran as fast as I could toward the fence, stumbling over rocks and weeds littering the ground. I lost my footing when my shoe caught in a gopher hole. I hit the ground hard; my teeth chattered together, and the wind was knocked from my body with a grunt.

I scrambled up from the prickly weeds just in time to see another match flare and then die. He was right in front of me. I only had a few yards to go. I started running again. I ran straight to the fence, stopping just before I hit it.

I expected to see him waiting for me. But there was no one there. Panic set it. Had he left already? My mind whirred with possibilities before I heard movement in the brush.

“David,” I sighed.

“You’re more beautiful than I remember.”

“You can’t even see me,” I said with a sob.

“I see you,” he murmured, walking to the fence. He stuck his fingers through the gaps in the fencing and grabbed my hands through it.

There was just enough moonlight for me to make out his features. His head bent forward and met mine against the cool steel separating us. He kissed me gently, letting go of one hand to run his finger down the side of my face.

“I’ve missed you.”

“Ha, you have no idea how much I’ve missed you, Eva.”

“Where have you been all this time?” I asked, looking at his face in the dim light. His boyishness had been erased, replaced with ruggedness. He was still just as handsome, but…different.

“Right after I arrived at my village a group of nomads moved through the area. They were topside survivors. Until then, none of us knew there were any survivors. I left with them. We traveled looking for other survivors and other villages. About a month ago, I met up with the group I’m with now. They told me about the villages merging. I joined with them, and we’ve been traveling from village to village. I’ve been looking for you. They’ve been looking for their own family members.”

“If you’d only waited…” I shook my head, feeling tears push behind my eyes.

“I know. If I’d only waited another week, I’d be on the other side of this fence.”

“Yeah. We could’ve walked to work together, had lunch together every afternoon, dinner every evening—”

“Wait, what?”

“We could’ve had dinner together.”

“No, before that. What did you say about work?”

“Oh, that reminds me. Here, you’ll need this.” I pushed his ID card through the holes in the fence. “George doesn’t think they’ll let you into the compound because you’ve been out of the villages for so long, but you should try showing your badge to the guards at the gate anyway.”

“Eva, what did you say about work?”

“Your badge has an
E
on it. So does mine. We would have worked together. Or at least we would have lived in the same district.”

“George didn’t tell me that,” he said quietly.

“He probably didn’t know,” I lied. “Half our time is gone already. Do you really want to spend the rest talking about George?” I smiled.

“No.”

He reached for me again, twirling my hair through his fingers as his lips found mine. I hated that I was restrained so much. I couldn’t really touch him, feel him. My fingers could only reach through the gaps in the fence so far, and it wasn’t far enough. I wanted to hold him and for him to hold me. But I was happy to settle for the feel of his lips on mine.

He pulled back and looked at me with a grin. “I’ve missed that.”

I could feel the blush heat my skin, partly from his words, but mostly from his kiss. “Me, too.”

I’ve missed your taste. Every time you kiss me, you taste the same. I crave it
.

“I’ve told you what I’ve been doing. Now it’s your turn to tell me. I want to know everything you’ve done since I saw you last. Every second, Eva.”

“I’m teaching, which shouldn’t be a surprise. We kind of figured I would. What I wasn’t counting on was liking it. I really love what I do.”

“You were dreading it!”

“I know. It’s funny how things change.”

“Yeah.”

I told him about my classes and students. That Nona worked with me and lived across the street. That we’d become friends. And the hour passed by before either of us was ready.

“George said he’d set up another meeting,” David told me between kisses.

“I don’t want to wait. Our time was up before we even began.”

“I know, but this will be over soon. I promise.”

I
lay in the cool grass. The prickly weeds bit into my skin, snagging my clothes. The ground was moist under me, my clothes cold and damp. But I didn’t care. The only sensation that registered was David’s warm fingers touching mine through the small openings in the cold steel fence that separated us.

We were silent, looking at the pitch-black sky, the stars twinkling like fireflies. It would have been a romantic night if it weren’t for the circumstances—if David wasn’t locked out of the prison I was in.

“Time’s almost up,” he murmured. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“I’ll try.”

“I’ll be here if you can get away. If not, we can meet the night after.”

“Okay.” I dreaded leaving him.

It’d been three weeks since we’d first seen each other. We’d been meeting almost every night since. George warned us it was too much, reminding us not to get caught. Just because this area of the fence was away from the gates didn’t mean that people—on either side—wouldn’t notice us, follow us. But knowing David was nearby was too much of a pull for me to ignore. I needed to be with him.

The nights I couldn’t get away were torture. Knowing he was waiting by the fence in our meadow made it almost impossible not to sneak away, even when my neighbors could see me. But George’s warning stuck in my mind, so when people were around I forced myself to stay home.

I’d missed two nights. Each night, people were walking around the neighborhood, disregarding the curfew. I worried that, if they continued staying out past curfew, I’d continue missing my time with David.

The third night was quiet, just the chirping of crickets and the far-off croak of a bullfrog breaking the silence. My neighbors weren’t outside and most of the houses were dark. I walked outside and listened again. The night was still and my heart lurched. I ran nearly the entire way, stopping only when I heard him whisper my name.