Chapter 22
New Energy
The marching party was reluctant, at best. We only packed what could be carried on our backs, which meant much of the supplies were left behind. People had a hard time giving up their Tang. But Susan, Bee, Alex, and I had spent the last year and a half walking. For us it was like returning home.
"Do we stick by the rivers?" Alex asked.
"Yes," Susan and I said together, probably for different reasons. I glanced at her, continuing, "That’s where Micah expects us. He might be leaving other groups of people or supplies along the river – or he might be there…"
I trailed off and Alex arched his eyebrow. "Waiting with open arms?"
"Something like that," I mumbled.
Susan walked up to us, cinching her backpack down on her shoulders. "Just so you know, I'm not happy about this. I'd rather be on the water. It's faster, and less physically demanding."
I put my arm around her. "Well, you are welcome to swim your way there."
She looked at me sideways. "Ha, ha." She took a deep breath. "We divided the group. Half will stay back to finish the burial ritual and clean up the mess. They'll follow in a day or two."
I craned my neck to look around Susan. "What about Margie, is she staying?"
"Well, the deceased was her husband, so I assume so," Susan said in her grumpy voice.
I rolled my eyes. "Wait here, I want to talk to her a minute."
I found Margie inland, gathering wood for the funeral pyre, whistling.
"Margie?"
She stopped her tune and spun, eyes wide, like she had gotten caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
I narrowed my eyes. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, um…" she looked around, then set down her pile of sticks. "Look – I know what this might look like."
"Like what?" I asked, playing dumb.
"Like, maybe that I'm not sad enough after what happened." She brushed bits of leaves and dirt off her skirt.
"Are you sad?"
She paused, actually thinking about it for a moment. "For Bobby, I am. His father was everything to him. But…" She paused again, and scratched her arm.
"But what?" I prompted.
"But he was going to lead that boy astray. He was not the best role model."
I furrowed my brow, testing her. "He was your husband."
"I accepted the union because I thought I needed him to survive. I was lonely, and scared, and destitute."
Now I was reeling with confusion. "You can do some pretty powerful stuff; I didn't even know Earths could control plant life like that," I said, thinking of the vines that saved Robert on the river.
She ceased twisting her hands to wave one in the air, "I don't know about at all that. I had to save him. I mean, I caused the mess in the first place."
Funny, I blame myself.
I sighed, and sat down on a large log a few feet away. She joined me.
I nudged her. "Maybe we both need to stop being so hard on ourselves."
She smiled.
"I'm serious," I told her. "You’re totally powerful – and smart. You could live off the land by yourself for years if you had to."
"Well, what about you?" she asked. "The energy practically comes off you in waves. I've felt it strengthen every day since I've met you. Especially today."
"Oh." My cheeks went red. "Last night I, um, meditated." I cleared my throat, looked at her, and smiled. "You know, I think we’re going to be okay. We've been through…a lot. But we're still here."
She nodded. "Alive and kicking."
"Exactly…" our voices were almost at a whisper now.
"You and Micah saved us, you know." It was her turn to nudge me.
"What? How?"
"Robert and his son were in charge of the camp, as you probably guessed. When we started to grow food successfully, our small group thrived. They became more and more protective – to the point that it was becoming more of a cult than anything else." She picked up a stick, scratching it aimlessly in the ground. "It was getting ridiculous. He…hit…me a couple of times when I tried interjecting." She shrugged. "I made excuses for him, thinking it was just because he had so much on his shoulders, protecting us and all."
I stayed silent, letting her get her story out.
"When we went more than a month without seeing other people, Robert claimed we were close to the last humans. He even 'accidentally' destroyed our radio. He said it would be up to us to repopulate."
My hand went over my mouth as I gasped.
She kept her eyes forward. "They were coming up with a schedule – a rotation at nights. And that was the exact moment when Micah walked into our camp." She smiled to herself. "There was a fight, of course. But it was no contest. Robert was way out of his league."