When Jeremy awoke, he was lying on an examination table in a brightly lit room, still naked but covered by a white sheet. The softness of the leather-like surface of the examination table provided comfort for his aching buttocks. As Jeremy regained consciousness, he noticed that his cuts had been bandaged. Then he began to look around the room. He noticed three other people seated in the room. One was a white-haired elderly man dressed in white. Next to him was a young woman, also dressed in white. Down at the far side of the room sat a man clothed in a red-plaid flannel shirt and blue jeans, whom Jeremy judged was probably in his forties. All three were looking at him.
The elderly man soon got up and walked over to Jeremy. First, he gently took hold of Jeremy’s wrist, held it briefly, and released it.
“That was quite a swim you took this morning,” commented the old man. “You must have wanted to get out of Virginia pretty badly.”
Jeremy wanted to respond but could not think of what to say. Besides, he was still feeling too numb to do much of anything.
“Mr. Kaufman found you by the shore of the river early this morning,” continued the old man, gesturing toward the other man. “He called for an ambulance, which brought you over here. Mr. Kaufman followed along. He is concerned about you. We all are.”
Jeremy tried to smile. “Where am I?” he asked.
“You are in the Lockwood Medical Clinic in Fort Washington Park, Maryland,” the old man replied. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr. Floyd Perkins, the head doctor at this clinic.” Then, gesturing toward the woman, he said, “This is Laura Grady, one of our nurses.” Then, gesturing again toward the man at the far side of the room, he said, “That is Gary Kaufman.”
“Will I be OK?” Jeremy asked.
“You’ll be fine,” replied Dr. Perkins. “Gary was certainly worried when he saw you lying unconscious out back of his house. He did not think you could have survived that swim, but that you might have drowned and been washed ashore. But you had just passed out from exhaustion.”
“It’s not every morning that I see someone lying unconscious and naked down by the river in my backyard,” inserted Gary Kaufman. “The first thing I did was run out to you and check your pulse. When I felt that you had one, I ran back to my house to get help.”
“Thank you for helping me,” Jeremy said, basically trying to speak to all the people in the room. “By the way, my name is Jeremy Voorhies.”
“We were curious about one thing,” continued Dr. Perkins. “We noticed those welts on your hind end. We were wondering what was happening to you in Virginia that led to you getting that awful beating and then risking your life swimming across such a wide part of the Potomac to get here.”
“It all began on Saturday morning,” Jeremy explained. “My best friend and I swam across the Potomac to see what was in DC. We got talking to a guy there who started telling us about how rotten General Krakowski and his Virginia cronies are. He told us that the people in the RSNA are much happier, that they can do more of the things they want. He said we would be much better off living in the RSNA.”
“Saturday morning,” mused Dr. Perkins. “That was when Virginia sent its military up to DC and torched the place.”
“I saw that smoke on the way out of DC,” acknowledged Jeremy. “While we were talking to this guy, suddenly some Virginia army men stormed into the building we were in. They killed the guy we were talking with and arrested both me and Vince. They took us back to Virginia. While I was being taken back to Virginia, I could see this huge waft of smoke coming from what looked like a part of DC, and I could certainly smell it.”
“So that’s why Virginia invaded DC,” concluded Gary Kaufman. “They knew you two had escaped. So they decided to torch the place to get rid of their DC problem. Well, continue.”
“They took me and Vince to Richmond,” continued Jeremy. “They kept us locked in separate, empty hospital rooms for hours. Finally, some army men took me out. On the way down the hall, I saw Vince. I smiled at him, but he just gave me a blank look like he didn’t even know me. Then they took me to this room in the basement of the hospital. I sat in the middle of the room, with the only light dangling right over my head. There was a table with three military men sitting behind it. The middle one, a captain, gave me this intense grilling over the seriousness of the rule I had broken and about my loyalty to Virginia.”
“Those Virginia authorities sure don’t want their people to find out what they are really doing, do they!” exclaimed Gary Kaufman.
“After the grilling was over, they said that I could be rehabilitated. They took me to place they called a halfway house. It turned out to be more like a prison. The next morning, they had me read a magazine. After everything that had happened the day before, I did not feel like reading anything that praised Virginia or General Krakowski. So I just pretended to read. After lunch, an officer asked me to tell him what I had read about. I tried to bluff my way through it, but he knew I was lying. He then had me taken down to the basement, where I got whipped.”
“That explains those welts you have,” inserted Dr. Perkins.
“Not only that, but they worked us constantly. They made me weed the backyard garden, load boxes in a warehouse, and help dig a ditch. When I went to school yesterday, none of the students or teachers would have anything to do with me. They even had a test but didn’t let me take it. After all that, I just decided that I wanted out of there. I saw my chance to make a break and ran for it,” Jeremy explained, carefully omitting the fact that he had killed the man who was watching over him. “I ran over to the railroad yard, hopped a northbound train, jumped off when I knew I was getting close to Alexandria, ran over to the river, and swam over here.”
“You must be in top physical condition to do all that running and swimming after such a grueling day,” complimented Dr. Perkins. “Not many people can do what you just did. I guess the train ride gave you a little chance to rest. Anyone would be exhausted after swimming across the river. You just need to rest for a while and regain your strength. My wife, Sarah, is fixing breakfast for you. She will have it ready soon. Meanwhile, you just lie there and rest. If you need anything, just ask Nurse Grady. I need to go tend to the clinic.”
With that, Dr. Perkins left the room, motioning for Gary Kaufman to come with him. Gary complied. That left Jeremy alone in the room with Nurse Grady.
After that, there was nothing but silence in the room. Jeremy made extra sure that the sheet completely covered his bare body. After a few minutes, Nurse Grady broke the silence.
“That was a very brave thing you did, running away from Virginia. You must have known that they would come after you.”
“That’s for sure. As soon as I broke a window to get out of that house, an alarm went off. As I ran down some back alleys, I could hear sirens coming. I could see the red flashing lights as they charged down the streets toward the house.”
“You are lucky nobody saw you.”
“I tried to stay hidden in those alleys. At one point I saw a car coming up a street that paralleled the alley. I hid back until the car passed, then went on.”
“How did you find that railroad yard?”
“I passed over it on the way to and from school. So I had a pretty good idea how to get there. Virginia runs most of its trains at night. That meant I did not have to wait long for a ride.”
“And then you made that horrible swim. Most people attempting that swim would have drowned. You must be in super good shape.”
“Well, thanks. Right now, I’m just glad I made it.”
“We are glad you made it too. Just do what the doctor says. You will be all right.”
Jeremy thought about all the obstacles he faced last night. Getting past Arthur. Getting out of the house without being noticed. Running to the railroad yard without getting caught. Safely jumping the train. The long swim across the Potomac. Jeremy surmised that his escape was a combination of three things: luck, bravery, and determination.
Jeremy looked over at Nurse Grady. She was smiling at him. Jeremy was quite sure that Nurse Grady was too old for him romantically. He figured that the smile had something to do with either admiring his bravery or him surviving the arduous ordeal. He wanted to talk to her some more.
“Thank you for helping me this morning,” he finally said.
“It was the least we could do. We knew you needed help.”
“What do you think will happen next?”
“I’m not really sure. I know Mrs. Perkins will be bringing you some breakfast shortly. Then I guess somebody will have to figure out a place for you to stay.”
“Do you have any idea where I might be staying? Perhaps a hospital? A boarding house? Would I move in with somebody?”
“I really don’t know. I’m sure that you will be seeing people who can help with that.”
Momentarily, a white-haired woman dressed in white walked in with food on a tray. Jeremy sat up, still being careful to remain covered by the sheet. He was sure that this was Mrs. Perkins. She sat the tray on Jeremy’s lap. Then she went over and sat next to Nurse Grady and chatted with her. Meanwhile, Jeremy enjoyed his first meal in the RSNA.
Jeremy had never tasted anything so delectable. The scrambled eggs covered with cheese. The hot, juicy sausage patties. Two warm, soft, buttery biscuits. But it was the orange juice that he enjoyed most. Its sweet taste was far more satisfying than the Virginia victory juice. Jeremy ate slowly, savoring every morsel. He tried to think of what this delicious food tasted like. Then he came up with his answer. This was the taste of freedom.
Shortly before Jeremy finished eating, Dr. Perkins walked back into the room.
“I talked with Lt. Miller of the local police department,” he informed Jeremy. “He is bringing you some clothes. He will also drive you up to the Baltimore airport. Arrangements have been made to fly you to Des Moines, Iowa. They have a place for you to stay there.”
“Des Moines, Iowa!” shouted Jeremy in state of shock. “Couldn’t I stay someplace a little closer to home?”
“Lt. Miller will explain more of that to you. Something about security reasons.”
Jeremy finished his breakfast and handed the breakfast tray to Dr. Perkins. He in turn handed it to Mrs. Perkins, who took it and left the room.
Jeremy just lay back down on the examination table. He was not sure what to think. Just four days ago, he was a promising student at Arlington Lee High School. He had even been selected to go on a weeklong visit to Virginia Military Institute. Now he was an escaped prisoner from his home state being shipped off to Iowa. Never in his life had he been outside of Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. To him, Iowa seemed like the other side of the world. What could be in store for him out there?
“I have to get back to work,” stated Dr. Perkins. “I’ll bring Lt. Miller down when he arrives.”
Then Dr. Perkins left the room, once again leaving him alone with Nurse Grady.
“Why are they taking me so far away?” Jeremy complained. “Surely there is someplace closer than that where I can stay. What kind of security reasons could there be for taking me out there?”
“I honestly don’t know. You will have to ask Lt. Miller. I know that some people escape from Virginia up here to Maryland, but I don’t know what they do then.”
“It just seems like there should be some place closer than Des Moines, Iowa, where I could stay.”
“I am sure it is for your own good. You will find out soon.”
“But I have never been outside Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania before in my life. Iowa just seems so far away.”
“You really are attached to this area, aren’t you, Jeremy?”
“It’s just that going all the way out to Des Moines seems like too much. I’m not sure I’d like it out there. Couldn’t there be somebody closer that I could stay with? Perhaps my grandparents in Pennsylvania?”
“Tell Lt. Miller that you have grandparents in Pennsylvania. Maybe you could stay with them. It is not for me to decide.”
“I just don’t like this idea. Taking me away from everything I have ever known before. Putting me in a strange, new place. I just don’t like it.”
“I wish there were something I could do for you. But the decision has been made, and there is nothing that I can do to change it.”
“Yeah, I guess I should just be glad to be out of Virginia. I could tell I was in for a lot of pain and suffering if I stayed there.”
“That’s right. Just be glad you are out of Virginia. You will be much better off in Iowa, living in the RSNA.”
At that point, Jeremy figured nothing more could be said about being relocated to Iowa. But he enjoyed talking to Nurse Grady. So he changed the subject. Jeremy started talking about his family, background, and life back in Virginia. Nurse Grady told Jeremy about herself, her family, and her work at the clinic.
Jeremy and Nurse Grady continued their conversation for about thirty minutes. Then Dr. Perkins walked back into the room, accompanied by a policeman. The name tag with the name “Miller” on it told Jeremy who it was. In Lt. Miller’s right hand was a plastic bag with some clothes in it. Jeremy quickly sat up and got into the seated position of attention.
“You don’t need to do that here,” Lt. Miller assured him, with a slight laugh. “Only other policemen in my department have to honor my rank.”
“Here’s your ride to Baltimore,” announced Dr. Perkins.
Nurse Grady politely left the room while Jeremy got dressed. The blue jeans fit somewhat loosely, though the belt helped a little. The T-shirt fit reasonably well, but the gray sweatshirt also had a loose fit. At least the white socks and blue tennis shoes fit comfortably.
As soon as Jeremy was dressed, he, Dr. Perkins, and Lt. Miller all left the room. They led him down a short hallway out to the front of the clinic. As they were passing by the front desk, Nurse Grady smiled and waved at him. “Goodbye,” she said, with her charming smile.
“Goodbye, and thank you for all your help,” answered Jeremy.
Then Jeremy turned and, to his surprise, saw Gary Kaufman sitting in the waiting area. Gary got up, walked over to Jeremy, and handed him a slip of paper.
“That has my name, address, and phone number if you would like to keep in touch,” said Gary. He and Jeremy shook hands, and Jeremy thanked Gary for his help. Then they started walking toward the front door. At the door, Dr. Perkins stopped. He shook Jeremy’s hand, said goodbye, and wished him the best of success. Jeremy thanked Dr. Perkins. Then Jeremy and Lt. Miller walked out of the clinic, over to the police car in the parking lot.
As Lt. Miller started driving out, Jeremy saw Gary Kaufman getting into a car. He must have been headed back home.
“I wonder why they didn’t let Gary stay in that room with me,” Jeremy pondered.
“The clinic probably does not want anybody besides patients and staff in those examination rooms. Dr. Perkins told me that Mr. Kaufman was so concerned about you that they let him stay there until you regained consciousness. Then he must have waited in the waiting room for you to come out.”
“Does he know where I am going?”
“I am sure he does. He is interested in what happens to you. They all are.”
The two remained silent while the policeman drove down some winding streets. Finally arriving at a main thoroughfare, he turned left. Jeremy had no idea where he was at that point, but he knew he was headed toward Baltimore. Lt. Miller certainly knew how to get there.
Finally, Jeremy asked the question that had been burning in his mind ever since he found out where he was being taken. “Why am I being taken clear out to Iowa? Isn’t there someplace closer where I could stay?”
“It’s for security reasons. The Virginia authorities know that some of their people want to escape. They send spies up here to look for escapees. If one of them found you, they would haul you back to Virginia faster than you could blink. And then you would get even worse treatment than you got before.”
“But why Iowa? Why not someplace a little closer?”
“First of all, Iowa has offered refuge to Virginia escapees. Their people will work with you to help get you situated. Second, Virginia’s spies generally stay in areas close to Virginia. There have not been any reports of spy activity in Iowa.”
“Am I supposed to be safer out there?”
“That’s right. Furthermore, the people out there who work with the Virginia escapees are pretty helpful.”
“What if a spy gets mistaken for an escapee and gets sent to Des Moines?”
“We can usually tell who the spies are. You are obviously not a spy. No spy would risk his life swimming across such a wide part of the Potomac River. Not only that, but those welts you got prove that you are not a spy.”
“What if a spy gets sent to Des Moines by mistake?”
“If we get one who we are not sure about, we send him to Saskatchewan. There they have a facility where the people are more closely monitored. If we figure out they are true escapees, they get to go to Iowa if they want. If we figure out that they are spies, they are sent to St. Louis for trial.”
“So anyway, sir, what will they do to me when I get to Iowa?”
“Just call me George,” Lt. Miller said with a laugh as he drove the car onto a freeway on-ramp. “They have some place for you to stay where you will be provided with what you need. If you want to work, they will probably help you find that too.”
“What about school?”
“They will enroll you in a local school. Your education is important. They will make sure you get the education you need.”
Jeremy began to feel a little better about his upcoming residence in Iowa. But then he thought of another question.
“What about my Grandma and Grandpa Voorhies? Could I possibly stay with them?”
“How long has it been since you have been in touch with them?”
“It’s been over ten years. They live in Danville, Pennsylvania.”
“That could make them hard to find. But we will try to find them for you. Do you have any other relatives outside of Virginia?”
“My dad had two younger sisters. They were both living with Grandma and Grandpa last time I saw them. Their names are Vicky and Cindy.”
“Your aunts may be even harder to trace down. But we’ll see what we can do for you.”
Continuing up the freeway, Jeremy noticed how much smoother and more comfortable this ride was than in Virginia. The road was smooth, with no potholes. Not only that, but the car also ran much more smoothly than the vehicles in Virginia. No clanking sounds or strange rattling noises. Somehow, that seemed to be the way a car should run.
Then Jeremy began looking at the surrounding scenery. The buildings were much fresher and newer looking than the buildings in Virginia. The meticulous landscaping provided a serene feeling that he had never experienced in Virginia. David Grove was right. Things were much better in the RSNA than in Virginia.
Thinking of David Grove, Jeremy came up with another question. “What happened during that burning of DC the other day?”
“In Virginia, it is hard to do much of anything without the authorities finding out about it. They probably knew you and your friend had swum over to DC shortly after you did it. Fearing that someone there would tell you boys the truth about what is going on in Virginia, they sent soldiers after you. Meanwhile, they decided to fix their DC problem for once and for all by destroying it. Once we up here found out what was going on, the RSNA sent troops to try to protect the area, particularly the people living in it.”
“Are the people there OK?”
“Most of them fled up here. Out of about a thousand people, I think there were only four unaccounted for.”
“I bet one of the ones unaccounted for was David Grove, the man that Vince and I were talking to. He was killed by the soldiers.”
“You are probably right. Anyway, there is no one living in DC now. There is nothing there worth saving anyway.”
“What will happen to DC now?”
“That’s hard to say. I guess Maryland will try to administer it. Perhaps DC will become a part of Maryland. At this point, I don’t think anybody knows. I’m sure that land will eventually be put to some kind of use.”
Next Jeremy noticed something he had not seen in Virginia. It was a building under construction. That made Jeremy think of another question.
“Why did Maryland decide to join the RSNA?” Jeremy asked, even though he remembered David Grove’s explanation.
“Actually, General Krakowski did us a favor without meaning to. He massed a whole bunch of troops along the Potomac River across from us. We knew General Krakowski was going to invade. After what happened to West Virginia, President Adair declared that an attack against any state was an attack against all. Our governor sent an SOS to President Adair. Right away, he sent several times more troops than Virginia had. Then Virginia backed down.”
“And then what happened?”
“I guess the RSNA could have taken us over if they wanted to. They literally had our state covered with troops. But President Adair does not work that way. After about two weeks, he offered to withdraw his troops. Meanwhile, our leaders were talking things over. Because of the Virginia threat, they decided that we should join the RSNA. Our governor even asked President Adair if he could leave some of his troops here.”
“So then Maryland joined the RSNA.”
“Maryland and Delaware. Shortly after the breakup of the union, Maryland and Delaware reunited under one government. When our leaders decided to join the RSNA, we decided to let Delaware go first. Delaware was the first state to approve the original United States Constitution. Therefore, it was considered the first state. Letting Delaware go first seemed like the right thing to do.”
“So now Delaware and Maryland are both part of the RSNA. Why did Pennsylvania follow them so quickly?”
“Pennsylvania feared attack from Virginia too. With Virginia occupying West Virginia, they have a long border with Pennsylvania. The leaders in Pennsylvania decided not to take any chances. They cast their lot with the RSNA.”
“So now General Krakowski is trying to enlist the help of the other Southern states to help him fight the RSNA.”
“That’s true, but he is not having any success with it. The Southern governors, except Louisiana, all pay lip service to him. Just last week he tried to arrange a meeting with the governor of Tennessee. But the Tennessee governor knew that Krakowski was just trying to manipulate him. So instead, the Tennessee governor informed General Krakowski that he never wanted to meet with him under any conditions.”
“What about Louisiana?”
“Their leaders are trying to work the situation for their own gain. If they can get some payola from Krakowski, they might agree to some kind of deal. It’s just that Krakowski does not have much to offer for payment except for his weapons. And he does not want to give those up.”
“But Krakowski is still considered a threat.”
“Certainly. So far, he has only used conventional warfare tactics to achieve his goals. But he probably is beginning to realize that he can’t beat the RSNA or take over any other state that way. Our biggest concern is that he might use nuclear weapons or terrorism.”
“Does he have a lot of nuclear weapons? And what’s terrorism?”
“Nobody is sure if he has nuclear weapons or not. If he does, he is a much bigger threat to all of us. As for terrorism, it means he might send some of his people to do things like blow up buildings or perform some other kind of sabotage. Thankfully, he has not tried that yet.”
“Do you think he might?”
“He might. Considering his state of mind, I guess anything is possible. But look on the bright side. Since he convinced us to join the RSNA, we have been much better off. Our banks are now backed by the RSNA’s monetary system. Goods from the RSNA get exported through our ports. Our businesses make financial deals with the big money-center banks in Detroit. We are now enjoying a higher standard of living than at any time since the breakup. People are much happier too.”
Jeremy stopped talking and considered everything he had just been told. The potential threat from his own home state, even, potentially, in the form of nuclear weapons and terrorism. General Krakowski’s stated goal of controlling all of English-speaking North America. The higher standard of living in the RSNA, which he could now partake in at the expense of being separated from his family. His whole world was changing so fast he could not begin to comprehend it. Feeling both overwhelmed and nervous, he could not think of anything more to say.
Before they reached Baltimore, Jeremy noticed some signs about an airport. He surmised that this must be the airport where he was headed. Sure enough, when they got to the airport exit, Lt. Miller took it. They headed down a parkway with a building at the end that Jeremy concluded must be the airport terminal. About halfway down the parkway, it became bordered on both sides by hurricane fences.
Lt. Miller stopped at a gate in the fence on their side of the parkway. There he showed a uniformed man some papers. The gate opened. Lt. Miller drove through. Then he drove around a couple of wings of the building before turning in between two wings. He drove up the entire length of the wings to a door located between the bases of them.
“Here we are,” announced Lt. Miller as he stopped the car in front of the door, motioning for Jeremy to get out. Jeremy quickly complied, with Lt. Miller getting out too.
Lt. Miller knocked on the door. Soon a young, dark-haired woman dressed in a blue uniform opened the door. Terry had seen plenty of uniforms in his life, but this one was different. It hardly looked military.
“This is Jeremy Voorhies, our last-minute passenger to Des Moines,” Lt. Miller said to the uniformed woman.
“Pleased to meet you, Jeremy,” she said, shaking hands with him.
“Now Jeremy, before I go, there is one thing I want to ask you about.”
Jeremy turned to Lt. Miller, giving the policeman his undivided attention.
“You said you might have some relatives living in Pennsylvania. Could you please tell me their names?”
“My grandparents are John and Grace Voorhies. Last time I saw them, they were living in Danville. My dad’s two sisters, Cindy and Vicky, were living with them.”
Lt. Miller jotted their names and location on a sheet of paper. “We will have somebody try to locate them for you. Meanwhile, welcome to the RSNA. I am sure you will do just fine in Des Moines.”
With that, Lt. Miller shook Jeremy’s hand and started back to his police car. “Thank you for the ride,” Jeremy called out as the policeman got back into his car. Soon Lt. Miller started up his car and drove away, leaving Jeremy alone with the uniformed woman.
“Your flight does not leave for a few hours,” the woman informed Jeremy as she escorted him inside the terminal and up a dusky gray stairwell that seemed like it hardly ever got used. “We have a waiting room for you. I will come and get you when it is time to board the flight.”
Jeremy envisioned a dingy, poorly lit room where there would be nothing for him to do for the next three hours but sit and wait. It made him think of the hospital room in Richmond where he had been held prisoner.
They stopped at a door at the top of the stairs. At that point, the woman turned to him. “While you are in the waiting room, you must not talk to anybody except the people working the front counter. You may help yourself to the refreshments and read the magazines and newspapers in the room, but you must remember to keep quiet. This is the first public place you have been in since your escape.”
Jeremy nodded his head in compliance. Then the uniformed woman took him through the door, out into the main part of the terminal. The terminal’s wide-open spaciousness uplifted Jeremy. The uniformed woman led him down one wing of the terminal. About halfway down the wing, she stopped at two rich-looking wooden doors. Jeremy could tell that these doors opened to an area that was walled off from the rest of the wing, which was very wide open. The woman took her badge and ran it across a scanner near the door. Then she opened it, guiding Jeremy inside.
Much to Jeremy’s pleasant surprise, this was a spacious, well-lit room. At the entrance was a neat, dark brown, wooden counter. Two women, one dark-haired and one blond, sat behind the counter. Both were wearing uniforms like the one worn by the lady who had just escorted him. Seats and coffee tables were spaced out around the room. A refrigerator with a brown wood-simulating door was just to the right and back of the front counter. Walls blocked off corners of the room to his left and to his right. But this certainly looked like a comfortable place to spend a few idle hours.
The woman who had escorted him up spoke quietly with the women at the counter. Jeremy could not hear what they were saying, but he was certain it must be something about him. Then the woman who had escorted him left the room. Jeremy walked the few short steps over to the counter.
The blonde whispered to him, “Feel free to help yourself to any of the beverages in the refrigerator or any of the snacks in the bowls around the room. The men’s room is off to your right, behind that wall. But remember, do not talk to anyone. If you need anything, come and ask us.”
Jeremy simply replied, “OK,” and walked over to the refrigerator to get a drink. Inside the refrigerator were several beverages that Jeremy had never heard of before, with names like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, and 7 Up. He had no idea what any of these tasted like. There were also some cans of assorted fruit juices. Jeremy had a better idea what those would taste like, especially the orange juice, which he had just tasted this morning.
Taking a cool, damp, green can of 7 Up, Jeremy walked over to one of the chairs over on the right wall of the room. The cool, light, fizzy taste of the soda brought a smile to Jeremy’s lips. Why couldn’t Virginia have delicious beverages like these? Just like with the breakfast this morning, Jeremy savored every sip. On the coffee table in front of him was a bowl of mixed nuts. Grabbing a handful, he popped a few of them in his mouth. Once again, it was delicious, way beyond anything he had tasted back in Virginia. In his first day in the RSNA, it sure was proving to be a wonderful place!
Despite the delicious food and the relaxing accommodations, Jeremy still could not feel totally at ease. Certainly he worried that a Virginia spy might catch him and haul him back to Virginia. But he also wondered about his family. They had to have been informed of his escape by now. How might they be feeling? And what about Vince? What must be happening to him?
Jeremy tried not to let these concerns bother him as he waited for his flight. He could not help but keep reaching for more nuts. When his 7 Up can was emptied, he promptly went back to the refrigerator. This time he would try a Dr. Pepper. It was equally satisfying. Then he noticed that there were other types of snack foods at other tables around the room. Jeremy tried some chips and pretzels. This room had so much delicious food that he could not find in Virginia!
While he was waiting, Jeremy picked up a sports magazine and started reading it. He first read parts of the baseball section. It seemed that every state in the RSNA had its own baseball league, except that Maryland and Delaware were together in one league. Jeremy noticed that four of the ten teams in the league were from Baltimore and that one of them was on the verge of winning the title.
Then he found another article about an effort to form an RSNA-wide professional baseball league. It seemed like the eight cities that would participate this league were already chosen: Baltimore, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, St. Louis, and Kansas City. This new league was tentatively planning to start play next spring.
Then Jeremy moved on to football. An article praised the University of Maryland football team, touting it as the best in the country. It was the first season of RSNA-wide college football. As he read on, he learned that the teams considered most likely to challenge Maryland for the national RSNA championship were Pittsburgh, Michigan, Kentucky, St. Louis, and Drake. Jeremy had no idea where Drake was located, but he decided he wanted to follow this football season with interest.
Eventually, the woman who had escorted Jeremy into this room reappeared. She told him it was time to board his flight. Jeremy did not want to stop reading the magazine or munching on the snacks and drinking the sodas. But he knew he had to do as he was told. He put down the magazine, got up, and followed the woman. She led him out of the room and farther down the terminal wing.
Near the end of the wing, she took Jeremy to a counter. Near the counter, people were filing through a door to board an airplane. A sign above the counter announced the words “Des Moines,” with the time and some other numbers on it.
The woman spoke quietly to the man and woman behind the counter. Soon a young, brown-haired woman wearing a dark blue uniform that was slightly different from his escort’s appeared through the door that the other people were leaving through. The top of the uniform was not completely buttoned down. Both the pants and the shirt revealed more of her slender figure. On the front shirt pocket of her uniform was a nametag that simply said “Yvette.” Neither his escort nor the women in the waiting room, had any such identification. In fact, he never did find out the names of any of those women.
Yvette smiled at Jeremy and said, “Let me show you to your seat.”
Yvette led Jeremy down through the tunnel, leaving the other women behind. They walked past the line of passengers waiting to board the plane and onto the plane. She led him through one section of the plane into another section that was much longer. Jeremy noticed that the seats were smaller in this section.
“Your seat is by the window,” she said, gesturing to the left, down the front row of the second section. “Fasten the seat belt and enjoy your ride. I will escort you out when we get to Des Moines. If you need anything, please ask me or one of the other flight attendants.”
Jeremy just said “thanks” and went to his seat. He buckled the seat belt, then watched as more people filed onto the plane. Gradually, the plane began to fill up. Soon, a burly man in an olive-green army uniform with corporal stripes on it, with the name “Hudson” on the nametag, took the seat beside Jeremy. Jeremy wondered if this man had been assigned this seat to watch over him.
When the plane began to move, Jeremy listened carefully as a flight attendant explained how to buckle the seat belts, how the seats could be used as floating devices, and about the airbags that would drop down in case of a decrease in cabin pressure. Everyone was to remain seated with the seat belts fastened until the captain turned off the “fasten seat belt” sign. Even then, everyone was encouraged to remain in their seats with their seat belts fastened unless they needed to get up for some reason.
Jeremy felt slight nervousness as the plane maneuvered around the other airplanes, moving out away from the terminal. Then it stopped. Jeremy wondered if something was wrong. Out his window, he saw another airplane speeding down the opposite runway, gradually ascending from the ground. Then his plane moved forward a little. He saw another plane take off, after which his plane moved forward a little more. Then Jeremy realized what was happening. His plane was in a line, waiting to take off.
After a few more stops, the plane took a right turn toward the runway where the other planes had been taking off. Jeremy watched one more plane take off. Then his plane pulled onto the runway. Momentarily, it began to move rapidly forward, much faster than anything Jeremy had ridden before. Soon it was off the ground. The plane and everyone on board, himself included, were headed for Des Moines.
As the plane soared higher into the sky, Jeremy looked back out the window as best he could. Back there was everything he had ever known in his life. His parents. His siblings. His school. His friends. Even the other relatives were there. Ahead of him was Des Moines. Jeremy still had no idea what it would be like out there. He did not know anybody there. Would he make new friends? What kind of place would he be staying in? What would they expect from him at school?
Gradually, Baltimore disappeared from sight. Jeremy felt a painful knot tie up in his throat. Would he ever see his family again? Would he ever see any of his relatives again? What about his friends, especially Vince? What did the future hold? Perhaps he should never have gone into DC with Vince in the first place. But now there was no turning back.