Escape to Eden (25 page)

“I’ll get firewood,” Anthony says, after he’s set up the tent for Jenna and me.

Jenna’s been occupied with her wristpad all day. She looks up from it now. “The Institute sent out a notice a few minutes ago. They’re asking Fronters to keep an eye out for you guys, specifically on the west side of Providence.”

“The Canine,” Colt says. “It’s only a matter of time before he tracks us here.”

“And hopefully by then we will be in New York City,” Anthony says.

“To the safe house,” Jenna says. “But then what?”

“There’s a good chance Sage’s father will still be there. Plus they have a lot more resources in the city. They may be able to fly us out. Maybe all the way to Eden.”

Colt sets Max down. “And the Canine? What about him?”

Anthony is quiet for several seconds before he says, “Something will have to be done about him. Otherwise, you’ll never be safe.” He looks at me, but I glance away. As long as the Canine lives he’ll always come, which means everyone around me is in danger.

“What do you guys want for dinner?” Anthony asks. “Fake chicken or fake fish?”

Jenna moans.

“How about rabbit?” I ask. I’ve already seen several of them in the forest. They are the easiest animals to catch with a snare. “I bet I have one before you guys have a fire started.” I unzip my pack and search for one of the smaller snares.

Anthony’s eyebrows rise. “You have a deal.”

Jenna scrunches her nose like she’s tasting something foul. “Rabbit? I didn’t know you could eat those.”

“You can eat anything with meat,” Colt says.

“Humans have meat. Are you going to eat me?”

“I’d rather die.”

“That can be arranged.”

I walk in between them, hoping to break up their argument. “I’m leaving. Anthony, is it okay if Max stays with you?”

Max is sitting next to him, watching Anthony as he breaks up little twigs in front of him.

“Of course. I couldn’t ask for better company.”

“Thanks. I’ll hurry back.”

“Wait!” Colt says, turning away from Jenna. “I’m coming with you before Jenna attempts to murder me.”

Jenna says something in return, but I’m already too far into the forest to hear what.

Colt catches up. His movements are far quieter than mine, even though I’m trying hard to move soundlessly across the forest floor into a steep ravine. I grab onto large rocks and thin trees as I make my way down to where I think the most rabbits will be.

The sun is beginning to dip behind the tree line. I need to find a rabbit soon, before darkness comes; otherwise it will be impossible to spot one. I search the landscape, focusing on bushes where I might find a rabbit trail.

After a few minutes, Colt says, “I always wanted to hunt when I was younger.”

“Then why didn’t you?”

He shrugs. “Never got around to it, but I’d go into the forest sometimes just to be alone. People thought I was crazy. They couldn’t understand why I liked it.”

Up ahead, a branch of a bush moves as if an animal’s ducked inside. I squint my eyes, trying to see through the fading light. I stop moving and wait for the movement again.

“What do you like about it?” I say, my voice low.

“The world feels normal out here. It hasn’t been tampered with like people have.” Colt pauses and points to the right of the bush I’d been staring at. “It’s over there.”

I look at him. “Huh?”

“The rabbit. It moved over to that bush.” He continues to point to the right of me.

“How do you know it’s a rabbit?”

“First I heard it, but then I saw it. Briefly. It’s black with big ears.”

“Right. I keep forgetting you’re a Noc. Stay here.” I walk through the woods until I reach the bush Colt had been pointing at earlier. Sure enough there is a small trail moving in and out of the forests undergrowth. I set the snare nearby, placing old apple peels and an extra ripe banana at its center, then hurry back to Colt a good distance away.

“I’m glad you can forget what I am,” Colt whispers. “I wish I could.”

I keep my eye focused on the bush, my breathing even, and wait for a glimpse of the rabbit. “I’d give anything to have your abilities,” I say, my voice as low as his.

“You can’t mean that.”

“Maybe not, but I feel like such a burden to the rest of you. I know you all could travel a lot faster without me and Max.”

“But this isn’t about us. It’s about you.”

I don’t say anything else. The whole thing makes me uncomfortable. Colt is silent too, seemingly deep in thought.

At least ten minutes pass, and I’m considering walking back to camp. I can check the trap in a couple of hours or even in the morning. Usually my snares work quickly, but I’m in a new, unfamiliar area.

Just then a rabbit jumps out of the bush and sniffs the air. He waits a few minutes before hopping toward the snare. I hold my breath.
Almost there
.

“Got it!” Colt says.

I walk through the trees to the rabbit that is struggling to free itself from the wire around its neck. I pick it up gently and grimace. “I hate this part.”

Before thinking about it any further, I snap the rabbit’s neck. “Thank you,” I whisper.

Colt grips my arm suddenly, startling me.

“What is it?”

“Something’s coming.”

A breath catches in my lungs. “The Institute?”

He shakes his head. “I don’t think so. I don’t recognize the sound, but whatever it is, it’s big.”

“From where?”

He points to the left of us and slowly backs up. “It doesn’t sound human.”

“An animal probably. Could just be a deer.”

“Its steps are too heavy.”

“Mountain lion?” I hope that’s what it is because I don’t want to think of the alternative.

“I don’t think so. It’s heavier.”

“Come on. Let’s go,” I say, but a deep, throaty growl stops me. I know the sound.

“What is that?” Colt asks.

I scan the forest around us, but it’s too dark to see anything. It could be anywhere. Running is no longer an option, and the forest is too thick here for Colt to fly. A tree with lower limbs is about forty feet away. We should be able to climb it to get high enough away from the beast.

Maybe there’s a better option. To our side, closer than the tree, is a rocky face set into the side of a hill. There’s a thin crack we may fit into.

I whisper, “Slowly back up to the rocks, and whatever you do, don’t run.”

Colt does as I say, just as another growl rumbles through the forest. A shiver races up my spine and across my skin.

“Is that what I think it is?” Colt says.

Before I can answer, a grizzly bear stomps its way forward from a thick grove of trees and bushes. Over a century ago, the east coast only had to contend with black bears, but with the population decline and the ever-growing forests, grizzlies had expanded their territories all across the land.

Colt turns to run, but I take hold of his shirt. “Move slowly. There’s a crack in the rocks behind us.”

The grizzly bounds toward us until it’s twenty feet away. It rises up on its hind legs and lets out a monstrous roar that shakes every bone in my body.

We’re almost to the split in the rocks. Colt glances over his shoulder. “You go first,” he says.

I take one giant step back and attempt to squeeze through the narrow crevice. The jagged rocks scrape against my skin, but I keep moving as far as I can, which is only about five feet into the small opening.

Colt moves to follow me when the grizzly bear charges. Colt has just enough time to slide in next to me before the bear reaches the rocks. Its massive paw swipes into the crack, barely missing Colt’s leg. The bear smells terrible, almost as bad as the odor in the tunnels.

“I can’t believe this is really happening,” Colt says, his voice higher than normal. He lifts his leg to avoid another blow from the bear’s razor-sharp claws.

I want to offer some words of comfort, to tell him that the bear will go away soon enough, but there’s a growing pressure on my chest. The space is too tight, and I can’t breathe. My fingers claw at the rocks as if to break through them. I gasp for air, but my lungs feel like they’re closing off. My eyes close tight. My
breathing is too quick, and my lips begin to tingle. I need to get out of here before I pass out.

“Hey,” Colt says. “Look at me.”

I barely hear him over the sound of my heartbeat drumming in my ears.

“Sage. Look at me,” his voice commands.

I open my eyes.

“Take deep, slow breaths. In and out.”

The bear roars again, vibrating the rocks, and I’m afraid the whole mountain will collapse on top of us.

I’m not sure how Colt does it in the tight space, but he finds my hand. He squeezes it tight. “You need to breathe. Relax. We’re going to get out of here.” He rubs my palm with his thumb. The touch is tender and for a moment I forget that I need air.

The bear snorts and swipes at the ground in front of the crevice, but after a few seconds, it turns and slowly saunters away. It glances back at us a few times until the trees and shrubs swallow the bear whole.

As soon as Colt’s sure the bear is gone, he steps out of the crevice, pulling me with him. I collapse to my knees and suck in as much oxygen as my lungs can handle.

Colt stands near me, eyeing the forest like he’s afraid the bear might return. “Are you all right?” he whispers down to me.

I wait until the tingling leaves my body before I answer in a quiet voice. “Sorry I panicked. I’m not one for small spaces.”

“I’ve noticed.”

I laugh uncomfortably, wishing he didn’t know that part of me. “You probably think I’m a coward.”

“Um, we just faced a bear. I would’ve run if it weren’t for you. As far as I’m concerned, you are the bravest person I know.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Despite my shaky legs, I walk toward where the rabbit’s body lies in the grass and pick it up. Colt comes next to me; his hand, the one that had been holding mine, is balled tight, and I wonder how hard that must’ve been for him, touching me like that.

“My fear of tight spaces began when I was seven,” I say and head toward camp. “I fell into a crack in a cave near our home
when I was out exploring. I was there for almost two days before my father found me.” I shove a branch out of my way. It’s almost completely dark now and the air has turned cold.

“I can’t imagine what that must’ve been like.” Colt walks beside me, oblivious to the cool air.

I shrug. “We all have fears to overcome.”

He doesn’t say anything, simply stares straight ahead. I rely on his good eyesight to guide us back to camp. When we arrive a fire burns brightly. Max runs up to me and takes my hand.

“I beat you,” Anthony says.

“Only because we were attacked by a bear.” Colt drops next to him on the ground.

Anthony’s eyes widen; fire reflects in their glassy surface. “A what?”

Jenna laughs. “That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all day!”

Colt ignores her and tells Anthony all about it. His version sounds much more exciting than what really happened. Thankfully, he doesn’t mention anything about me freaking out.

I smile and listen while I gut and skin the rabbit. Max watches intently, every step of the process. It’s something he’s familiar with. Thirty minutes later everyone, including Jenna, is licking their fingers.

“That was delicious,” Colt says.

Anthony tosses a small bone into the fire. “Just like I remember.”

“Not bad,” Jenna says. “A little tough maybe.”

Colt leans over and looks at her. “Not bad? It was perfect.”

She shrugs. “I might’ve given a better review if there was more of it.”

Anthony laughs. A second later the rest of us join him. Even Max is smiling.

I lean back on my hands, warm and content. In just a few more days, we will reach New York City. My father will be there, I just know it; then we can put all of this behind us.

Jenna sits up, looking at her wristpad, and says, “Good news.”

“What is it?” Anthony asks.

“The Institute. They’ve called off the search.”

Colt stiffens and looks around as if he expects us to be surrounded. The forest is quiet except for the occasional popping of a dying fire.

Anthony holds his hand out. “Let me see.”

Jenna removes her wristpad and hands it to him. He reads something on its lit-up screen. “It’s true. Yesterday they searched Providence and when they found nothing, they called off the search. However, they did ask the authorities in all nearby cities to watch out for us.” He looks up. “We did it. We’re going to make it.”

Colt stands. “No way. It’s a trick. They know about Jenna’s tap into their security. I told you this would happen!”

Jenna kicks out her legs and leans back into a tree trunk. “You’re being paranoid as usual.”

Colt ignores her and turns to Anthony. “Come on, Anthony. You have to know this is a trick. We have to leave now.”

Anthony’s lips are pressed tight as if he’s thinking hard. “And go where? Whether it’s a trick or not, and I’m not saying it is, the only way we’re going to help these two is if we get them to New York City as quickly as possible.”

“Then let’s go now.”

Anthony looks at each of us then shakes his head. “We’ve already pushed hard today. Let’s get some rest and then we’ll leave early. If we go fast tomorrow and into the night, we’ll be there in two more days.”

I scoot Max next to me. “What about the Canine?”

“He’ll do what the Institute says. They’ll probably send him to different cities to see if he can pick up your scent. Don’t worry. Just get plenty of rest. You’re going to need it.” Anthony says all this, but the lines in his forehead are more prominent. He stirs the fire, lifting bits of ash into the air.

Colt kneels down next to Anthony, a pleading look in his eye. “I can fly. Take them out of here. One by one if I have to.”

“Your wing isn’t healed all the way for a flight like that. It will tear within the first ten miles and you know it.”

Colt straightens and looks away, every muscle in his body flexed tight. The fire’s flame casts moving shadows across his face.
I don’t know what to believe. I want to believe Anthony is right and that we are safe, but Colt has a point. Why would the Institute give up so easily?