The Deep (22 page)

I turn around to Tony. “You’re coming with
us?”

He nods. “I’m afraid I have to. Now that
you’ve escaped, I’ll be the prime suspect. I know the city and I’m
your friend. It’s time for me to leave Dartmoor.”

One by one, we fold ourselves into the
cramped, concealed space. No matter how tight and stuffy this
compartment is, to us it means freedom. We’re inside a van that
will take us to a ship sailing out with us on board, far away from
an existence as test subjects in some medical center.

Pounding, hurried footsteps populate my
dreams when I finally fall asleep in Walt’s arms. After Aldin and
his assistants disappeared and locked the van behind them, we heard
scores of people running past us outside, shouting orders and
searching high and low. Someone even opened the van at some point,
but they didn’t find us in our hiding place.

I remember that night I came back to our camp
after stealing The Book. What Saul did then to find back his
treasure is eerily similar to what Jacob is doing now. The
president sees us as his property – as lab rats in a cage. And
frankly, it’s not even personal. He doesn’t hate us – he just
doesn’t understand why we wouldn’t willingly sacrifice ourselves to
save many others. He said his God would have done the same.

I wonder why Aldin wants to help us if he
believes in the very same God.

After what seems like an eternity, the doors
of the van’s cab are opened and someone starts the engine. A
feeling of relief floods me as the van starts to move. Now all
Aldin needs to do is get out of the city and make it to the south
gate, and then we’ll be safe.

I freeze when a radio suddenly crackles to
life right next to me. Tony suppresses a curse and fumbles around
in the darkness to dig up the device he is apparently carrying.
“What’s up?” he mumbles very quietly after pressing the connection
button.

“Some ten odd cars have just showed up on the
quay,” I hear Captain Tom’s voice, high with panic. “They’re taking
up position in the harbor. What should we do?”

“Get the hell out of there,” Tony replies.
“Right now. Switch on the radio every three hours and stay in touch
so I can let you know where we are. We’ll take another ship and
sail your way. You don’t have to wait for us in Penzance.”

He clicks off.

“Was the
Explorer
still docked in the
harbor?” Walt whispers.

“Yes, I asked the captain to wait for us
until we had some news. I was hoping we’d be able to take the two
of you with us to Penzance. Besides, I had no idea how to get you
back to Tresco if the
Explorer
left without us. But now that
we have a second ship, that’s no longer an issue. And the president
is obviously not open to letting you go.” He heaves a deep sigh of
frustration. “I cannot believe what he’s capable of. His rules are
strict, we all know that, but neighborly love should be number one
with him.”

“Don’t forget self-sacrifice,” I say
bitterly. “I’m sure that’s in his personal top three
somewhere.”

At that moment, someone above our heads
knocks on the wooden panel separating the cab from the loading
area, signaling for us to be quiet. We’ve arrived at the first
gate.

The drive that seemed to fly by on our way
here is now sheer torture. All my limbs hurt and I have the feeling
I will never properly breathe again. Shouldn’t we be at the border
by now?

In the dark, Walt reaches for my hand and
squeezes it reassuringly. “We’re almost there,” he comforts me.
“Just a little while longer.”

When the van finally slows down, I manage to
relax a bit. It doesn’t take long for us to come to a complete
stop. Within a few second, someone opens the back doors to crawl
into the loading compartment and open our hatch.

“Welcome to Woolwell,” Aldin says.

I blink against the morning light flooding
our hideout. With stiff arms and legs I edge out of the hollow
space under the seats and then breathe in the fresh morning air. We
are parked beside a road looking out over a ruined city. Behind me,
the others emerge from the van as well. We made it – Woolwell is
clearly not a part of Dartmoor County. Everything here is
contaminated and cankered. Dead.

“If any of you need to heed nature’s call,
there’s a little patch of trees over there,” Aldin says, indicating
a measly piece of woodland. “Let’s not linger here.”

I avert my eyes when my three male companions
make their way to the unappealing trees alongside Aldin’s
assistant. Plymouth isn’t that far away anymore, so I’ll hold it
up. My eyes scan the landscape – the same kind of view we had while
driving from Penzance to Dartmoor. Scorched earth, sickly brown,
barren, and deserted. In a way, I can almost imagine why people
would be willing to lock us up and use us as test subjects. If they
could really find a cure for the disease, all this land could
potentially be rebuilt. Everything would come back to life,
blossom, and prosper under a new sun. A new earth and a new heaven,
where God would live among us.

New Dartmoor can’t be the place that Gideon’s
book spoke of. I know that now. They must have adapted the ancient
scripture to put their own spin on things. A city filled with fear
can’t harbor love and mercy. A city where God resides doesn’t need
holes in the fence to secretly let people out.

I can’t wait to return to Tresco. Walt and I
are part of a new generation, and equipped with our newly-acquired
knowledge we’ll be able to build a society built on respect and
willingness to learn from each other, east and west.

The sun is already quite high in the sky by
the time we board the large, metallic vessel that’s waiting for us
in Plymouth Harbor. About twenty people are on board, busy getting
the machines below deck ready for the journey. Their faces are
caked with grime, but I’m sure it has to do with the engines, not
with their washing habits. Tony tells me this engine doesn’t run on
solar power – it needs coal, a very scarce type of fuel. It makes
it even more special that Aldin and his helpers were willing to
make their ship available to us.

“The
Crusader
is ready to leave,
Bishop Aldin,” the captain informs him. “Where should we set sail
to?”

All heads turn toward Tony, who takes a
hesitant step forward. “I think the best thing to do is sail along
the coast westward first,” he says. “From Penzance I’ll have an
easier time finding my way. The sea map Henry and I were using was
lost in the shipwreck, and it’s a lot more complicated to navigate
from Plymouth.”

“So Penzance it is,” Aldin agrees. “Tony, can
you contact the
Explorer
?”

“Will do.” He switches on the radio and joins
the captain on his way to the prow.

“How come you are at odds with President
Jacob, Bishop?” I inquire curiously, finally wanting to hear why
this man is so different when it comes to religion. Was he also
part of a resistance movement like Victor had been?

Aldin smiles. “I have something Jacob doesn’t
have,” he says. “An Old Testament. A union of old and new. A book
with far more chapters than Gideon’s, it contains important stories
which should be a part of our religion too.”

I gape at him. “Where did you get that?”

“From the cathedral the two of you have
visited as well. A pilgrim gave it to me five years ago, and I
immediately recognized the significance of it. It was too important
to keep it safe and hidden in the palace, like Jacob’s predecessors
have done to Gideon’s original book. But my book and my church will
give people something different. More freedom and justice. More
humanness
.”

So his plan is really to start anew. And one
of his first steps toward that goal is to do away with Jacob’s
delusion of self-sacrifice and give us back our freedom.

“We’ve arranged quarters for you on the aft
side,” the bishop continues animatedly. “On the highest deck. The
lower decks are off-limits, because that’s where the sailors work
and make sure the machinery runs smoothly. We have some sensitive
equipment on board. It’s the first time we’re taking her out, you
know. This is the
Crusader’
s maiden voyage.”

Aldin shows us to our cabins – two large
rooms with adjacent bathrooms. “Don’t shower for too long,” he
warns us. “We don’t have a lot of sweet water reserves, and we
might not get any rain soon.”

Only now do I feel how filthy I am. Too bad I
can’t properly freshen up. My bag of clothes was still in Tony’s
bus when I was abducted by those creeps, so it’s probably on its
way to Tresco on board the
Explorer
by now – if anybody
thought of bringing it, that is.

“Who takes which cabin?” I ask, inspecting
the double beds in both rooms.

Walt clears his throat and gives his father a
meaningful look.

“Okay, fine, I’ll bunk up with Tony,” William
grants Walt’s silent request. “You two have my blessing.” He
briefly puts his hand on my shoulder. “Welcome to our family.”

“T-thank you,” I stutter, touched by his
words. Nobody in Newexter is ever welcomed into a family by
parents. They have nothing to do with the whole matter. Knowing
Walt’s father accepts me as his son’s partner makes me feel a bit
warmer inside, though.

We enter the cabin we will share on our trip.
A round porthole looks out over the harbor, slowly but surely
disappearing out of view. Then, the ship turns and we suddenly look
out on a calm sea, as well as a part of the Devon coastline we
haven’t seen before. My heart leaps up at the thought of going
home. Not a moment too soon.

“Hey,” Walt says gently, circling me with his
arms. “How are you holding up?”

“I can’t believe we managed to escape,” I
whisper. “And we’re going back to Tresco. You think Jacob will
leave us alone now?”

“What choice does he have? He doesn’t have
any ships and he doesn’t know where exactly our island is. That one
accurate sea map Tony found in the port building was destroyed. I
don’t know what else they have, though.”

“Well, I hope he stays on his side of the
water.” I turn around in the circle of his arms and look up at him.
“I’m going to wash up. I feel as dirty as the blackened hills
around Dartmoor.”

“Have fun,” he smirks. “I’m going on deck to
see what Tony and the captain are doing. And I’ll ask around for
some clean clothes for you, okay?”

“Can you read people’s minds?” I laugh
incredulously.

“Just yours.” He winks. “It’s my way of
making sure you keep finding me irresistible.”

On the third day of our journey, we finally
catch up with the
Explorer
. The captain spotted an object on
the radar – a kind of radio emitting signals that bounce off other
ships so they are visible on screen – about one hour ago.

“It’s good to see you all again!” Captain
Tom’s cheerful voice crackles through Tony’s portable radio. We can
see him in the distance, a black dot standing at the ship’s wheel.
“What a colossus of a thing you’re sailing on, by the way. How does
she stay afloat?”

“Long story,” Tony replies. “I’m not even
sure I understand it myself. Technology from the old world.
Fortunately these men knew how to get things working properly.”

I stand at the railing, smiling widely as my
eyes take in the beautiful sight of our Tresco ship. Walt and his
father have joined me. A lot of people have come on deck on the
Explorer
, and we shout and wave at each other
enthusiastically. They must have been worried about us, even more
so because they had to rush headlong out of Penzance Harbor after
the president’s cars had shown up there.

“Can we get close enough to change ships?” I
ask Aldin.

He shakes his head. “That’s too dangerous.
Besides, the two lifeboats we have on board haven’t been tested
yet. You’ll be reunited with your friends once we get to your
island.”

“But…” I moan with disappointment. “I think
Padma may have my clothes. I’d really like to get my hands on
them.” I’ve been parading around in an old T-shirt, which was
generously donated to me by one of the sailors, but this shirt is
starting to look kind of ratty as well. Everything on board the
Crusader
seems to emit dirt and grime.

“If they lower a sloop they might be able to
row over to us,” Walt suggests. “The
Explorer
has three
smaller boats.”

“But how will they get on board here?” the
captain objects, sidling up to us. “We do have a ladder, but it
doesn’t extend all the way to the water line. We should probably
wait.”

I stalk away in frustration. Of course I know
I’m throwing a tantrum over nothing. In all likelihood, we will get
to Tresco tomorrow, so by that time I can chat with Padma all I
want and put on new clothes every other hour, but I’ve had it with
this ship. The only places we’re allowed to go are on deck and one
level below deck where our cabins are. Everywhere else is too
risky, according to Aldin.

Walt comes after me. “Hey, I just heard Tony
say that we might be able to lower a rope,” he says. “If we tie
that to the railing, I can carefully lower myself into one of the
sloops.”

I smile. “And leave me behind? You disloyal
man.”

“No, of course not.” He rolls his eyes. “If
you ask Padma to send over some stuff, I can pick it up from the
sloop. What do you say?”

“Sounds good!” I look around searchingly.
“But where can we find a rope?”

Walt frowns. “Maybe in one of the other
cabins on our level? Or one level lower?”

“We’re not supposed to go there, remember?” I
observe.

“Well, Aldin said to stay away from sensitive
equipment. If all we do is pick up a length of rope, what could
possibly go wrong? Come on, let’s go below deck.”

We take the stairs down to the corridor
leading to our cabin and open the other doors, which lead to
storage rooms containing blankets, sheets, and cleaning
materials.