When the last person emerged from the tunnel, Kevin and Carla led them back to where the main road joined the camp. The underground passage had left the group and their packs streaked with mud. The nineteen exhausted newcomers were aged between ten or eleven and midforties. Pablo was in his late twenties, a few years older than Kevin and Carla. There was no question that he served as the group’s leader. Anytime Kevin or Carla made a suggestion or directed their path, the newcomers looked to Pablo for confirmation. Whenever he spoke, they moved instantly, tired as they were, without protest or question. They did not merely follow him. They trusted Pablo to see them through.
When they reached the clearing, firelight illuminated a group that looked pretty much like everyone else. Their passage along the camp’s perimeter drew little attention. Together Kevin and Carla and Pablo led the group south of the main camp. They crossed a narrow creek that supplied the travelers with fresh water. Beyond that rose a stand of fruit trees, probably apple. The space was relatively empty because the densely packed trees kept out all transport except the odd wheelbarrow. Even getting the horses through the undergrowth proved difficult.
Kevin let the horses drink their fill, then led them to a narrow meadow where the mounts of other travelers had been hobbled and left to graze. The earth surrounding his group’s bedding was ribbed with tree roots, but he doubted any of them would be awake long enough to complain. Pablo said he and Kevin and Carla would take first watch, then pointed to others, making sure each person understood who they were to wake and when. One of each group was assigned to watch the horses.
Pablo was quiet and lean, with a middle-weight boxer’s taut build. He stood about five ten, almost a head shorter than Kevin. He was very self-contained, very calm even though he shared the others’ exhaustion. He reminded Kevin of Zeke but without the lightning speed. He and Carla were clearly in love. Every time they passed one another, they shared a look, a caress, a soft word. Kevin found himself aching for what he had once known.
When the others were bedded down and it was just the three of them, Kevin asked, “You’re a special as well as Carla?”
Pablo settled where he could clearly see the horses and replied, “We don’t like that term.”
“Or abomination,” Carla said. “Or perversion.”
“Those are all tags other people apply to us,” Pablo said.
“So what do you call yourselves?”
“Adepts.” Pablo shifted so as to gauge Kevin’s response. As though he half expected Kevin to laugh.
Kevin said, “It suits you.” As Pablo relaxed slightly, Kevin went on, “So you are one.”
“Yes.”
“What is your . . .”
“We prefer the term ‘specialist skill.’ Or ‘gift.’ We use both.” Pablo’s smile was as spare as the rest of him, a simple rearranging of his lips and the skin around his eyes. “What I can and can’t do needs to wait.”
“It’s hard to explain?”
“Hard to conceive,” Carla corrected. “Best if he shows you.”
“When there’s time,” Pablo said.
Kevin decided he had no trouble with waiting. He liked them both, and liked even more how their concern for these others dominated their lives. “So the lights going out and the truck not starting . . .”
Pablo pointed to one of the larger slumbering forms. “Barry. Electromagnetic wave control.”
Kevin stared out over the crew, thinking that such traits as these would not be readily surrendered by Hollis or the mayor. “Are we safe here for the night?”
“They need to rest,” Carla said. “Especially the young ones.”
“We’ve been using nights to prepare,” Pablo explained. “None of us have slept much this past week.”
“But they could track you,” Kevin said.
Pablo pointed to a man with a scraggly beard, snoring softly by the nearest tree. “Forrest will know.”
“And Hank,” Carla added, pointing to the man guarding the horses. “And Tula.”
“Forrest is better.” Pablo stretched out his legs. “He’ll take over next. Even so, my guess is Hollis and his wolves will chase their tails tonight. Come sunrise, we’ll be gone.”
Kevin asked, “Where to?”
“I was hoping you’d tell us,” Pablo replied. “It’s why I sent Carla to find you.”
“You’re their leader.”
Pablo shook his head. “I’m just a sergeant. I’m good at what I do. That’s not just my rank, it’s who I am. I don’t have the vision to play officer. Or the smarts.”
Carla protested softly, “Pablo. Stop.”
“I’m too tired for games.” He pointed at the sleeping crew. “They need a safe haven. They need a future where they’ll not be treated like the mayor’s new weapon. They trust me. I trust you.”
Kevin was about to say that he was not the man for the job. That Caleb was the one born to lead, and this conversation solidified their need to head south. But all of that could wait until Pablo and Carla had some much-needed rest. Instead, he asked, “Can you locate someone who’s trying to stay hidden?”
Pablo frowned. “Is that someone an adept?”
“Yes. There are three of them, two men and a woman.”
“Can they pass on thoughts or feelings?”
“The woman can.”
“We’ve never tried it before, but it might be possible. Where are they?”
“Atlanta, I think.”
Carla showed him a worried gaze. “Our group will never walk that far.”
“And buying transport for this many will only alert the authorities,” Pablo added.
Kevin nodded. He had been thinking the same thing. “I have an idea.”