Earth(44)

Erika left before I had a chance to thank her.

I surveyed my surroundings. I was in a large tent, but just how large I had no idea. My small corner was blocked off by a sheet draped over a clothesline. I heard activity outside the tent, and kept my hearing on alert for the sound of Shawn's voice. Three hours later, and no Shawn. Instead, I caught clips and phrases of other helpful information.

I heard a working party returning for the day.

"The river was choppy today – gear kept rolling around on the boats."

"Good thing half the plant was disassembled before we got here."

"Job will be done in a week. Then we can head back to Utah."

"Only half of us will fit on the boats, the rest have to walk."

I racked my brain, and came up with Captain Carl's voice, Fort Calhoun's Nuclear Power Plant. The activity we’d seen was One Less. I shivered at how close we had come to Shawn. I shivered at how close I was to him now. And if he ever found Bee…

Bee!

Where was she? I closed my eyes and reached out. The sounds around me dulled and the barely audible buzzing of electrical signals became more prevalent. I followed each one, systematically eliminating each Water I came across. Finally, I found them – almost too far to detect. They were on the other side of a hill, sheltered by thick brush. Safe for now.

Do I run to them, or stay?

I opened my eyes and the buzzing in my head disappeared. I took a deep breath. Someone came in, smiled at me, and set an aspirin on the table next to me.

Aspirin?!

I hadn't seen aspirin in months. I sat up. Waves of pain gripped my head again. I reached for the aspirin and swallowed, without the water. As she left, pushing back the hanging sheet, I caught a glimpse of shelves and shelves full of medication.

I lay back down, taking more deep breaths until the pain passed. I'd be no use to Bee this way. Maybe I’d stay until they could help my concussion; maybe even help me get back my powers.

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Perhaps putting a little distance between me and Bee would help with the energy. No more earthquakes; nothing to tip off Shawn. Then we could regroup and figure out what to do.





* * *





My first trip out of the tent was necessitated by my full bladder. The late morning sun was blinding after two days of sleep and a dimly lit tent. I stumbled forward, feeling awkward and out of place, like the word 'spy' was tattooed on my forehead.

No one seemed to notice. I adjusted the blue band on my arm, spreading it out. Slightly more confident, I took a deep breath, and followed the smell to the latrines.

I watched the Elementals as they worked around camp. They all looked like normal people. Fat, skinny, old, and young. Diverse nationalities; I even heard several languages. All were intent on some task. And all were…happy, or seemed so, anyway.

There were hundreds of them. Shawn had been busy. I passed a tent with a dozen or more people standing in line just outside. "New recruits, stay in line! Have an ID ready if you have one. You will be marked—" The man barking out orders cut off at the screaming inside the tent. All eyes shot to him, people straightening their backs and fidgeting, on edge.

He held up his hands. "This is the price of admission. It will be clean and quick. You'll get a local anesthetic before and an aspirin after."

More than I got, I thought.

I kept walking, strangely more secure with the knowledge that One Less had several new recruits. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard blending in.

"Whoa, there." I felt a hand pull back on my upper arm. "Don't want to be stepping in there."

I glanced down at my foot, hovering over a ditch. I threw my arm over my nose and mouth. "Oh, man – the smell!" I turned to face my savior as he pulled me back to even ground.

"I know. They’re behind on their digging." He nodded to a dozen people with shovels a few yards away, excavating more ditches.

Latrine duty. Suddenly the kitchen didn't sound so bad.

"The women's bathrooms are over the hill." He pointed in the opposite direction. "Much nicer facilities from what I hear." He smiled.

I forced a laugh. "Yeah, well – thanks for the rescue."

He shrugged. "No biggie. Maybe we could meet up later – eat chow together?"

"Oh." My eyes went wide. I hadn't had to turn a man down in a long time.

"I'll come find you – where do you camp?" he asked.

"I'm – well, I'm over there." I pointed in the general direction we had both come, fumbling around for an excuse – an answer – something. "I'm with Erika. Er, not with her – but I'm from her. Camp, that is."

I groaned. Screwed that one up.

I put my hand on my hip and said a little louder. "I'm part of Erika's camp."