10

Selah jerked awake. She looked around. Please let it be a dream. She cleared the sleep from her eyes and focused. No dream. She was still in the library, among a pit of data glass rubble. With a heavy sigh, she dropped her head back to her arm and closed her eyes.

A feeling of warmth registered against her side. Maybe she’d attracted an animal in the night. Scared to move again, she opened one eye. Relief. In her fog, she’d forgotten about the girl. Amaryllis slept curled up against her.

She peered around again. The lights had turned off. She glanced up at the ceiling. A tiny shaft of light peeked in near the place where she’d spotted the kudzu. It wasn’t a large area but she could see daylight through the slit.

Selah sat up and stretched. Amaryllis awoke.

“I have to leave today, and—”

“No! Don’t leave.” Amaryllis grabbed her hand and squeezed it. Selah could feel the tremble in the girl’s arms.

Selah shook her head. “I’m sorry. I have to go. You saw my friend last night. Those bad men are going to do something evil to him if I don’t get him free.” Strange twist of events, identifying Bodhi as her friend and her brothers as bad.

Amaryllis started to weep. “I like you. I’m lonely. You made me feel safe.”

Selah’s heart softened. She’d been lucky to have loving parents and even brothers. It was still up in the air how loving the brothers were, but they were hers. She had never been alone in her entire life until now, and she didn’t like it very much. Knowing how a twelve-year-old child must feel, she squeezed her eyes shut. All she could see was Dane standing there on the verge of tears. There was no way to avoid this.

She patted Amaryllis on the head, removing another twig. How many things were hiding in this girl’s head? She grimaced. Sidetracked again.

Selah took a deep breath. “Would you like to come with me?” The child had saved her grief twice. She couldn’t bring herself to just abandon her for the kindness.

Amaryllis stopped in mid-cry. “Come with you? Where?”

“I don’t know where. I’m heading north. I doubt if I’ll ever come back this way.”

“Never?”

Selah shook her head. “No. I can’t come back.”

“Can I stay with you forever and ever?”

Selah chuckled. “Well, for however long forever and ever is.” The words caught in her throat. She’d never dreamed of a time she would have to leave her own mother or go out on her own.

“But what about this?” Amaryllis motioned to the room.

Selah pursed her lips. “We’ll always know where it is, and since I know the power in the reader will outlive us, I think we should gather a library of chips in case we need them.”

She almost choked on the words. Who was this person that had taken over her body? She was consciously thinking of something to entertain the child—what was the world coming to? This was probably the least important thing on her mind right now. But she was sounding more like her mother by the minute. Well, more like a big sister. She had always wanted a sister. Mother had laughed after Dane was born and told Selah he was her last chance for a sibling. She sighed, missing Dane.

Selah searched for one-inch carrier cubes to fit several dozen data chips apiece. She found several virtual catalogs embedded in the walls, but only one of them powered up. She was limited to searching one section, but she filled half a dozen cubes with enough material to keep Amaryllis busy for quite a while. It felt odd planning ahead when she didn’t know if she’d be alive next week. Hope springs eternal.

Maybe she could find a good family along the way, or maybe the girl would take off. Either way, she needed to get back on the road and avoid more distractions.

Selah followed as Amaryllis squirmed her way among the roots and vines, twisting through the boulder-strewn cavern. Outside the library, she used the sun for time. Six in the morning. The boys had been on the road for at least an hour.

Selah looked for a landmark so she’d have an idea of where the library was hidden. A landslide had blocked the original road with a new mountain, and a pine tree grew up directly in front of the library opening. Unless someone knew the opening was there, they’d never see it. The building had a domed roof, but covered in kudzu, it looked like a hill of vegetation. She took note of the single tree. That was how she’d find this place again.

Amaryllis slid her hand into Selah’s. Another father and a little sister, all in just a few days. What was next?

“Take me to the station. I need my backpack, then we head north,” Selah said.

“I’ve never been north,” Amaryllis said. “Is it a nice place to live?”

“I don’t know. We’ll find out after I save my . . . friend.” The word brought a trickle of warmth to Selah’s chest. This time she didn’t dismiss the thought but embraced it.

“I’m hungry.” It looked like a storm cloud was forming over Amaryllis’s eyes.

Selah smiled. Dane made that same face when he was hungry. “What do you eat?”

Amaryllis shrugged. “Nuts, berries. I sometimes dig up farmers’ potatoes or carrots or raid their other vegetables.”

“Do you eat meat?”

“When I can but I’m not a good cooker.” The girl scrunched up her mouth like she tasted bad medicine. She grinned. “But I know which birds are good to eat.”

Birds? Selah didn’t have any birds in her Borough that were food-worthy. Most were carnivores like blue jays, crows, and hawks. “You find the birds and I’ll cook them.”

Amaryllis pulled Selah by the hand. “There’s quail birds by the station.”

Selah thought it would be safer if they reached the next station first or even waited until she freed Bodhi. “We need to go north before we hunt.”

As they broke from the forest at the same place they’d gone in, Selah noted the felled tree leaning against two others.

“Is that where we’re going to save your friend?”

Selah opened her mouth to say yes and realized she had gained a partner. How much trouble could this lead to?

The whine of an engine. She heard it long before Amaryllis and pulled the girl back into the woods.

“What’s the matter? Why are we going back?”

Selah put her fingers to her lips. “We’ve got company coming.”

Amaryllis craned her neck. “Who?”

Selah pulled her back again as two Sand Runs passed by. They gunned and revved their engines, lifting a spray of dust that coated the immediate area and caused Amaryllis to cough. Selah covered her nose.

“How did you know they were coming?”

Selah looked down at the sputtering child. “I’ve got good ears.”

When they reached the station at Hampton, Selah retrieved her backpack. She pulled some jerky and fruit from the bag and handed them to Amaryllis.

“You eat these for now, and when we get to the next station, I’ll let you do the hunting.”

Amaryllis smiled and bit into the pear.

Selah checked her brothers’ fire pit, running her hand over the coals. Still slightly warm. The boys must have broken camp a short while ago. She looked at Amaryllis. “We are off to the north.”

Amaryllis started for the open road.

“No, not that way. This way.” Selah pointed to the open field on the other side of the tree line.

“That’s all tall grass. What if there’s snakes or animals hiding in there?” Amaryllis asked, wide-eyed.

Selah pressed her lips together to stifle a laugh. “Then your tromping through the tall grass will scare them away.”

Amaryllis didn’t look like she believed her.

“This is the shortcut to get us to the next station before my brothers.”

She still didn’t look convinced.

“I’ll walk in front of you,” Selah offered.

The child smiled and ducked into the field behind her.

Using the sun, Selah guessed it was about an hour before noon. It took an hour longer than she’d anticipated to reach the second station. Amaryllis dawdled like most children, especially after she’d lost her fear of the tall grass. Still, they made good time. She figured the boys were still two or three hours behind. This time she wouldn’t be taking any naps.

She checked the station, destroyed a poster announcing the increased bounty, then scoured the area looking for a good vantage point.

“Can I go hunt now?” Amaryllis bounced around on legs that acted more like springs than appendages.

Selah figured she couldn’t get in too much trouble if she stayed near the station. She’d call her back if she heard anyone coming. “Sure, go ahead. Maybe you’ll get lucky.” Selah wasn’t sure she could catch anything, but at least it would keep her busy.

Selah glanced at the sun’s movement on the tree shadows. Amaryllis had been gone the better part of an hour. Her heart began to race. Where’d that girl get to? The boys might be coming soon. She rose from camp and crossed to the tree line, ducking into the woods.

“Amaryllis!” she shouted. No answer. She traipsed farther in. She could smell moss and moisture. There must be a swamp nearby. She navigated through thick brush and vines as the ground turned spongy.

“Amaryllis, girl, you answer me!” Selah’s breathing ramped up. Where was she? If she’d known there was swamp back here she wouldn’t have let Amaryllis go alone.

Still no answer. Selah stopped to listen. Nothing.

Her steps quickened, but was she going in the right direction? She checked bushes for signs of disturbance and watched for footprints in the soft forest floor.

She stopped and screamed at the top of her lungs. At this point she didn’t care who heard her. “Amaryllis!”

A faint sound. Not a forest sound. She scanned the trees and spaces between them.

“Amaryllis!”

Another sound. This time it was closer. Muffled. High-pitched.

Selah ran in the direction of the sound. It stopped. She yelled again.

The same sound. Selah sprinted through the trees, calling the girl’s name. She almost ran past it, but skidded to a stop and screamed.

The boxes on the skin were unmistakable. A Burmese python had coiled itself around Amaryllis. There was blood everywhere.

Selah jumped on the snake, pounding it with her fists. One of the girl’s arms was free and thrashing about, digging at the snake, but it didn’t seem to affect the python.

The snake’s head hovered at the girl’s feet and the tail coiled around her head. Selah pried the tail off to find Amaryllis’s eyes wide with terror. Her face trembled as her mouth opened and closed, trying to gasp air. The python covered her whole body, preventing her from breathing. Her lips were turning blue.

The snake’s head bit down on Selah’s boot. She jumped and nearly tumbled over backward. Leaning in on the coiled snake, she stomped on the snake’s head again and again with her other foot.

Amaryllis’s eyes rolled back and her arm fell limp.

Tears pooled in Selah’s eyes, blurring her vision. Her heart pounded her ribs. “Amaryllis, hang on!” she screamed.

The snake released Selah’s boot but went back to wrapping around the girl. Selah got another coil of the tail off Amaryllis, exposing her neck, but the tail swung back around as fast as she removed it.

She dug in the side pocket of her pants for a throwing knife. With both hands, she plunged it repeatedly into the tail, stabbing and slashing until numerous wounds dripped blood. The coil flopped away.

Selah grabbed another length and forced it to unwind. The head rose to attack her and she stabbed her knife into its right eye. The snake thrashed about and bit into her hand. Pain radiated up her arm but now she had a good opening. She stabbed the snake in the other eye.

The snake let go of her and the coils loosened as it tried to get away.

Selah, emboldened by her rage, threw herself on top of the fleeing snake and slashed it until entrails oozed from the gaping gash.

Suddenly she regained her focus and scrambled from the writhing snake to Amaryllis.

The girl lay silent and still. Selah grabbed her up in her arms. “Amaryllis, please open your eyes.” She cradled the girl’s head in her arms and wailed. The girl’s head flopped from side to side as she shook her. Selah put her ear to her chest. Nothing. No heartbeat. No breath.

“Mother, help me!” she screamed. “What do I do?”

She rocked on her knees as she knelt in front of the pale, lifeless body covered in blood. She heard her mother’s voice in her head. Pound.

She’d seen it done before. She clasped her hands together and brought them down on the girl’s chest. “Breathe!”

Nothing.

She raised her hands again, tears streaming down her face. “Amaryllis! Breathe!” She thumped her clenched hands onto the girl’s chest again. Amaryllis’s torso jerked up as her mouth opened in a gasp and then another. Her arms flailed as she coughed.

Selah grabbed her and continued to cry, this time for joy. She did it! Amaryllis opened her eyes and whimpered as she clutched at Selah’s arms. The color slowly poured back into her face.

“Girl, don’t you ever scare me like that again.” Selah tried to smile through the tears but her trembling arms were giving her away. She hadn’t failed. The boys were wrong. She wasn’t useless or a child anymore.

Amaryllis smiled weakly. “You saved me.”

Selah managed to carry Amaryllis back to camp. The girl lay weak and disoriented. As Selah washed off the blood she discovered several puncture wounds in the child’s foot and hands.

Amaryllis managed to tell her the snake had surprised her while she lay in wait to shoot a quail rooting in the underbrush. Once the snake bit down on her foot, Amaryllis tried to pry its mouth open. Her hands earned puncture wounds from the sharp teeth. The snake was faster at winding than Amaryllis was at getting away. Then Selah arrived.

Selah figured the snake had been stalking the same bird. That was the last time Amaryllis would hunt alone. She wondered if Mother ever thought about Dane falling into this kind of trouble. She’d never mentioned it. Suddenly Selah wanted to go home and warn her.

With her wounds cleaned and bandaged, Amaryllis snuggled down next to Selah to sleep. Feeling the girl’s breathing against her chest gave Selah a feeling of peace that she didn’t quite understand. Was it about the girl or herself?

She’d expended a lot of energy and craved rest, but she was determined not to fall asleep again. As she thought through the events and what she needed to accomplish, she heard the familiar sound of a wagon approaching the station.

She scrambled to the lookout point and peered through the trees. The first person she spotted was Bodhi. Her heart fluttered. He looked sound and no worse for the travel. In fact, he looked remarkably bronzed and fit, as though he’d spent the day exercising and playing in the sun.

On the other hand, her brothers looked like they’d ridden hard. Both boys were sweaty and their clothes dusty. Selah wrinkled her nose. She could smell their sweat. They both needed a bath and a change of clothes, which wouldn’t happen anytime soon. She wondered if it was possible to smell them before she heard them coming. A giggle escaped her lips but their camp was far enough away to be safe.

Bodhi raised his head. She gasped. That same response had happened several times now. She was sure he could hear her. Dare she test it?

“Can you hear me?” She spoke in almost a whisper.

He nodded. Her eyes widened. It had to be a fluke.

“Do you know who I am?”

He nodded again. Her mouth opened in surprise.

“Are you hurt?”

He shook his head.

“What are you shaking your head about?” Raza hopped up in the back of the wagon and grabbed Bodhi by the shackles, dragging him out of the wagon by his feet.

Bodhi didn’t answer, but was able to keep his torso in an upright position as Raza dragged him to the end of the wagon bed.

Cleon hopped in the wagon behind him and pushed him to the ground. Bodhi landed on his feet. Selah wanted to pummel those boys for the way they were treating him, but she admitted her behavior might have been as bad several months ago. She wondered about others she’d helped send to their doom. Would she be called to answer for it someday?

Too many questions and not enough answers.

Selah lay in wait and watched them unload supplies and build a campfire. She feared talking to Bodhi and agitating her brothers. She was so close to putting her plan in motion. Better leave well enough alone and not create problems.

She watched Bodhi as he ate. She watched him when he closed his eyes. She could have closed her own eyes and still seen him. She memorized his eyes, those long lashes, his hair, and the way he breathed. She shook her head to dismiss the thoughts. Not part of the plan.

Amaryllis stirred. A soft moan escaped her lips.

Bodhi looked in her direction, concern etched on his face.

“It’s all right,” Selah whispered.

He put his head back down, and she scrambled away from the lookout to tend Amaryllis, who was sitting up rubbing her chest. Selah hugged her. The girl moaned again.

Selah released her. “Are you okay?”

The girl grimaced. “My ribs hurt. That stupid snake tried to squeeze the life out of me.”

Now it was Selah’s turn to make a face. Part of the pain was probably from her pounding on the poor girl, but she wasn’t going to bring that up. Let the snake take the credit.

“My brothers have set up camp, and my friend is still with them. I’m going to get him free as soon as they go to sleep.”

Amaryllis stuck out her chin. “Those boys are your brothers? Why don’t you just tell them to let your friend go?”

“It doesn’t work that way. I’ll explain it to you someday.”

“But they’re your brothers. Don’t they love you?”

“Of course they do . . . sorta. Well, it’s a long story. I promise to tell you but not now. We need to get ready.” There were so many things she wanted to wait to talk about. Maybe waiting would make the hurts not so fresh, and she’d have more logical answers. And maybe she just wasn’t ready to talk or think about them.

Twice Selah nodded off but fierce determination overrode the chronic need for sleep. The blue sky had dissolved into blackness, exposing the stars. The boys had bedded down. The closer Bodhi’s freedom came, the more her heart pounded. She felt the same high from running.

Energy surged through her body, filling her chest with thunder. She caught herself rubbing her scar.

The fire crackled and danced, sending off tiny embers that floated on the air currents like fireflies. She watched her brothers’ faces in the shadow of the flames. Both had fallen into their regular pattern of sleep. It was time.

Selah pulled the single key from her pocket and held it tightly in trembling fingers. She crept forward. The roaring fire burned through a knot in a piece of wood and flames popped.

She flinched as a trail of embers exploded from the spot and floated away. One landed on Cleon, who slept too close to the fire. She gasped. Please don’t let it set his cover on fire. The ember winked out.

Selah didn’t realize she was holding her breath until she exhaled. She continued the slow move forward. Reaching the last tree, she paused. She was about to step into the open. Were the boys really asleep? Or were they lying in wait? She had no choice, it was now or never.

She put her foot forward. An owl screeched. She froze.