“You really wish that Bud had still been created, but we all lived in peace together?”
“I do. And I don’t say that lightly. If anyone has earned the right to say it, I have.”
Jeff didn’t press the topic as the sun slowly began to light up the morning. As soon as it reached the horizon, their watch would be complete, and the caravan would try to slip by Petra, using it as a way to mask their trail.
“Sleeping on the job?” Drew said. The oldest of the vagrants strolled by them for at least the tenth time that night and said the exact same thing. Jeff’s guess was that the man was in his forties by his appearance, but his mind seemed much older.
“Still awake and still fighting the good fight, Drew,” Carlee said.
“Good on ya,” Drew said as he wandered out of sight once again.
Half of the camp was on watch tonight, and everyone was prepared to leave at a moment’s notice. They had hardly any supplies on hand, and most of the transports had been destroyed. Everyone knew the rendezvous point in the desert, and the secondary rendezvous point in a few months in the Puget Sound, in case things got dicey. Jeff had been surprised to be granted the details of the destinations, but apparently, wearing the uniform entitled him to the information.
“How long were the vagrants near Fifth Springs?” Jeff asked. He tried to keep his voice neutral, so as not to give away his suspicions.
“We tracked Horus there. We hoped to hide in its track and find some people who might need help in the aftermath.”
“So, you came after the fighting ended?”
“What are you asking?” Carlee was on to him, and he looked away from her before realizing his cowardice. When he looked back, she was waiting for him. “We didn’t pull Horus there if that’s what you are asking. We aren’t that reckless. You should know that.”
“I—”
“How long have you been holding on to that idea? This whole time? You thought I would let you sit among us this entire time, knowing that I brought what happened down on you? No. I promise you, we didn’t cause that to happen.”
“I hoped you didn’t. But . . . it crossed my mind during a lesson the other day. And I needed to know.”
“Well, now you know,” Carlee said. “We were only there long enough to save you.”
It was a relief to hear. He liked the vagrants, and he didn’t know what he would have done if they had turned out to be the reason his family had died. He let the conversation linger in the air until he sensed that Carlee had calmed down.
“Why did you save me? Back in Fifth Springs?”
“You needed help.”
“And that’s why you’ve kept me around this long? Stefani mentioned you’ve helped people like me before, but I don’t see any of them still here with you.”
“I . . . followed my gut.”
“Doesn’t that mean something about other realities?”
“I believe so. I feel like you’re needed. I don’t know why—I still hardly know you—but I feel like our paths are meant to continue on together. For now, at least.”
“That sounded a lot like Jane.”
“Well, Jane is very wise.”
“Is that the only reason?” Jeff asked while staring over at her. It was bright enough that he could make out the strong features of her face and soft eyes.
“The sun is practically up,” Carlee said. She stood up and stretched her legs. Even with her uniform and her body armor, she was beautiful, a combination of strength and compassion that Jeff would have thought impossible.
“Who is Bobby?” Jeff asked.
Carlee looked down at him and sighed. She offered her hand, and Jeff took it, deliberately using his human hand. The sun was peeking over the horizon now, and Jeff could see the other vagrants who had been on watch converging at the center of the camp.
“Bobby was my mentor. He taught me how to press and showed me so much more about life,” Carlee said. “But he’s not with us anymore.”
“Dead?”
Carlee nodded.
“I’m sorry, Carlee . . .” He squeezed her hand, and she let go.
“I’ve made peace with it.”
She started walking toward Jane’s tent where everyone was gathering, and Jeff followed after her. He knew it was a subject that he couldn’t bring up again, so against his better judgment, he pushed further.
“Was that all he was?” Jeff asked.
She turned to face him with tears in the corners of her eyes and forced a smile.
“He was also my husband.”
Jeff trailed a few steps behind her as they rejoined camp. He was busy processing the information. In a way, it made him understand Carlee better. The compassion, the distance—both made sense. But she was also young. Young enough that he doubted Bobby’s death was in the distant past. If she was still trying to recover from those wounds, it made sense why Stefani told him not to fall for her.
He should have listened.
Jane emerged from her tent, wearing body armor for the first time that Jeff had ever seen. Talon, as always, stood by her side, but even he seemed nervous.
“I fear I have let us be forced into this precarious position,” Jane said. “I have done my best, but there are so many paths funneling us to this location. An unnamed Apostle pursues us relentlessly from behind, which has come so close to catching us twice already, while two more of its kind are before us, preparing to do battle. It gets worse. Horus has a vast army of leeches, from its lands in the north, surrounding this position. And I have no doubt Petra has its own.”
The news caused a stir to spread throughout the gathered vagrants. Three Apostles and two armies of leeches, and they were trapped in the middle. He had known things were bad, but this seemed like the worst possible scenario. Jeff looked to Carlee, but she seemed to be unfazed by the news. If he hadn’t been with the most powerful group of humans alive, he knew he would have been living out his last minutes.
“There are many paths, but few, so few, have led us to this spot. I cannot promise anything except that I will do my best to lead us through this knot and ensure that we are never so ensnared again. The good news is that we are tiny specks, a needle in the haystack of their world. Keep a low profile, try your hardest not to draw their attention, stick together, and have faith. We will make it through.”
“We’ll follow you anywhere,” a portly man shouted from the side, and the vagrants slapped their body armor in agreement. Jeff even joined them. He had his doubts about Jane, but she had led the vagrants to Fifth Springs shortly after an Apostle attack, where they had eventually found him. For that, he was grateful.
“It is time to thread the needle.”
Without a further word, the vagrants dispersed, heading for their respective vehicles. Some knelt to say a prayer, while others stretched, already wearing flight suits. Jeff mounted his bike and found that his mortal hand was shaking.
“Hoods up,” Carlee said. “And stay close.”
Jeff nodded and pulled the hood of his uniform over his head. His vision lit up with display information about the vehicles and people in the vagrant camp. His head was also filled with chatter from all the vagrants who now shared a communication line.
“Let’s do this.”
“Ready whenever you hobos are.”
“Dibs on Petra.”
“All yours, Paul.”
The voices bounced around in his head, disorienting him. His bike powered on, and he felt sick to his stomach. He searched behind him one last time for Stefani, but he found nothing.
“We’ll see her by the ocean.” Carlee’s voice cut through the chatter and filled his soul with hope. He nodded as the vagrant forces commenced their flyby of one of the twelve artificial gods that had destroyed the world.