Because of Jane’s arrangement with Avi, there was no more vaccine and the town was completely unprepared for any sort of attack.
“When do we go?” I asked Walker that night.
“When the snow melts a little more. The water will be high in the rivers and I’m not sure how the bridges and other infrastructure will have fared over the last few months. It’s likely there are down trees and I would expect some fires like the one we had at the water plant in January.” Walker was originally from Michigan and had a better handle on the cold weather than the rest of us southerners. She asks, “So you’re in?”
“Of course.” I tilt my head. “On one condition.”
Her eyes narrow, curious. “What’s that?”
“That Jane trains with us before we go. I can’t go through what we experienced traveling up here. She’s a liability and frankly, just too damn exhausting.”
Walker agreed and met with Jane and told her our conditions. Together, along with Jackson and Green we decided to wait for the melt, praying spring would come early, all of us itchy to get outside. That gave Jane at least a few weeks to train intensively. She cried the first three days, hoping we’d cave and agree to just protect her. By the time the buds in the trees showed a hint of green and flocks of Canadian geese flew overhead signaling the switch in seasons, my sister could finally take a punch. Twice, even.
After all the weeks of preparation, we leave today. Well, that’s the plan, if Avi and Jane can stop fighting about the mission altogether.
“We made a deal when you got here, Jane. You promised you’d stay away from the research.”
“I’ve spent the last three months doing little but sleeping, reading, and cleaning. I even joined the library committee and also learned how to can food. I’m doing my part but there’s unfinished business, that you,” she says, “didn’t tell me about. You violated our agreement when you gave that vaccine to people outside of the community.”
I sigh and step into the kitchen. Jane’s bag is near her feet. She’s dressed in warm clothing and waterproof boots. She looks relieved to see me.
“Ready?” I ask. “Walker is meeting us at the gate.”
“Yes. I’m ready.”
“Jane,” Avi tries, reaching for her. It’s affectionate. They’re affectionate. Their relationship goes far beyond science. I wonder if he’s seen the bruises on her shoulder and ribs during this last week of training and how she explained it. “Don’t do this.”
“I don’t have a choice. It’s my vaccine. I’m responsible for what happens with it.”
I grip the strap of my pack and say, “I’ll be outside.” The sun feels a little warmer on my face today and I put on a pair of sunglasses I found in the antique shop down the road. I bartered for them with an hour of my time sorting buttons in the back room, which I later traded to the seamstress. I breathe in the fresh air and watch as a pack of kids runs down the road, headed for the school house. They wave, oblivious to the dangers outside the gates. I wave back.
The little world Avi has created works. I hope it survives.
Chapter 13
“Let me see that map,” I say to Green.
He hands it over and I bounce on the hard, wooden seat next to him. Two reddish-brown horses pull the small wagon Avi gave us for the trip. It’s a modernized version some of Avi’s men put together over the winter. The wheels are rubber and better for navigating pot holes and muddy terrain but a wagon is not a car and I miss the leather, heated seats my mother had in her Honda.
“We’re looking to turn at the next intersection.”
“I knew that,” he says.
“I was just double checking.” I fold the map back into a small square and shove it in my pocket. We go over another hole in the pavement and the wagon lurches. I wince, feeling every hard jostle in my aching butt.
Don’t let the quaintness fool you—wagons suck.
“It was nice of Avi to offer us the horses though, right?” Jane asks from the back. She bit her tongue on a particularly rocky patch of road earlier and has been pretty quiet. Walker and Jackson both sit in the back with her, alert and on guard. Green and I in the front. “Otherwise it would have taken a couple days to get there.”
“Very generous,” I agree. It was generous, especially when he really didn’t want us to go in the first place. It’s just been a long day and I really hope we can get to the little Mennonite town before dark. They live off the beaten path and although we’ve passed more than a few of the triangle signs directing us to be careful of other wagons and buggies, finding their exact location may prove difficult.
“Avi said we need to turn at the red barn but not the first red barn, the second red barn. The one with the brown door.” I remind him. Green gives me a hard look. I return it, but only briefly because he’s been giving me a lot of looks lately and I’m not sure how to handle that. “But you knew that because you were standing there when he said it.”
He leans in, pressing his shoulder to mine. “Are you okay? You seem a little jumpy.”
“I guess it’s just being out here. It’s been a long time since we’ve been out in the open, you know? The last time, I ended up in a cage.”
“True. But we got out of that one didn’t we?” It’s my turn to give him a hard look and he laughs. “Okay, you guys got us out. We were useless.”