Aurora (The Exodus Trilogy) (19 page)

“The guard will be back in a few minutes. This is your chance. Run!” she said. Ramon looked at her, cocking his head slightly. Who was that girl, and why would she help him?

“Come on, we don’t have the whole day!” she half whispered impatiently.

“I’ll tell them you held the knife to my throat,” she said, motioning for him to get moving. Ramon hesitated for a moment, thoughts racing through his mind. He didn’t know what to do, where to go. He hated the idea of going back to Havelar and Quellar and Carroll and the rest of those murdering bastards. But what if he could prove his innocence in the Trickler massacre? What if he could help the rebels from the inside, just like Thomas Dunn had? He let instinct take over, and grabbed the knife. He pushed past the girl, who stepped lightly aside, and looked outside. There was no one around, and it would take him mere seconds to reach the edge of the clearing. Then he would be hidden by the foliage. He took a tentative step outside, then another, before he started running. He didn’t look back. He expected someone to call out for him at any second, and just a few steps further he started to regret his decision. Well, nothing to do about it, he had to keep moving. He passed through the brush, and ran like he’d never run before, as far and as fast as he could. No one raised the alarm. After a while, he had to stop and catch his breath. As he stood there, he kept wondering, who was the girl, and why had she helped him?

As he kept moving, the light faded. He couldn’t have more than an hour or two with daylight, and if he hoped to be able to escape this valley, he needed to go as far as possible before even thinking of taking a break again. Passing a slow stream, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, as realization hit him. No wonder he hadn’t recognized the girl without the fatigues, the camouflage, the weapons.

She was one of the kids who had wiped out the team of soldiers two weeks ago. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise and looked around. If she’d let him out… Then something in his peripheral vision made him turn around, and he knew. The young man walking slowly toward him was unarmed, but he’d seen what these kids were able to. He let the knife, useless against this… creature, drop from his hand. He lowered his head.
Dear God, please forgive me
, he thought as he closed his eyes, picturing his wife and daughter one last time.

Chapter 13

KENNETH TAYLOR

Darkness was descending on the small village. Kenneth looked around, impressed by the community that had sprung up around him in the almost three weeks since they had arrived here. Already, a dozen huts and cabins were complete, and several more were in the making. The builders were finishing up for the day, heading toward the fires and stoves, the smells of food cooking wafted through the air. It never ceased to amaze him, the way their senses adapted to their environment. Take smell, so much weaker having to pass through the layers of sterilization and decontamination of the masks, but still there, and strong enough to make his mouth water. A few people were talking about removing their masks, now that Ben and the two other kids had done so, but Tina had forbidden it, since they didn’t really know the effects of the parasite yet. Kenneth had a bad feeling about it, having noticed a change in personality, especially in Ben, and Tina agreed. She said she hardly recognized the kid. Granted, she hadn’t seen all that much of him since they landed last spring, but the aggressive violent kid, who didn’t like taking orders, who had killed a detachment of soldiers to the last man, was a different person from the scared kid who had taken on the responsibility of the others back on the shuttle, and later on Aurora. She had told him everything about it, including the fact that she felt responsible for the well-being of all the kids from the New Discovery. Kenneth had a feeling the kids were changing somehow, and he suspected the parasite had something to do with it, which scared him. There was no way to examine the parasite in the detail required though, as the necessary equipment was either back in Fort Andrews or on the Exodus. So for the time being, all he could do was observe the changes in the kids’ behavior.

Other than that, he felt relatively safe here in the Stronghold. There hadn’t been any fighting since Ben and the others brought back Ramon Solis. There were soldiers in the woods and the hills to the south, but the scouts said they stayed well below the mountain passes. It seemed the war had turned into a standoff, and no one was willing to risk any more losses unless an end was attainable. Which it wasn’t at the moment, for either side. Kenneth shook his head at the whole situation. So far, almost a hundred people had been killed, of a population slightly over sixteen hundred. Few wars back on Earth had been so destructive in such a short time span, on a percentage basis. At some point, there had to be some sort of reconciliation, some sort of solution to this mess, but for the moment, he knew they should all just be happy that the killing had stopped. They were building something here, and because of the greater distance, he thought this might actually last. Port Hammer had been a good place to be, but because of its proximity to Andrews, it had always been vulnerable. The threat didn’t seem as imminent any more.

One thing that bothered him was the disappearance of Ramon Solis. He’d been surprised at his escape, simply because Ramon had given him the impression that he’d been ignorant of the poison gas, and he’d clearly regretted his role in the Havelar administration. Kenneth simply didn’t understand what Ramon would be running toward. Now he feared that winter or balders or whatever else might be out there would get him, or perhaps it already had. They had searched the woods, but the tracks had ended, and there was no sign of him anywhere. Maria was devastated of course, but in a way, Kenneth was silently relieved. Ramon would have faced severe punishment for his crimes, and a lot of people simply wanted to hang him. Tina had forbidden it, but mobs were dangerous, and there was a lot of anger amongst the people for the Trickler murders.

He bent down as he entered the cabin, to avoid banging his head on the low doorframe, as he had countless times already. His eyes didn’t adjust as well to the darkness any more, he guessed it was age, so he was thankful of the generator providing electric light to this and a couple of the other cabins nearby. This one belonged to Tina, who mainly used it for meetings. Kenneth was still surprised that he had been included in the group in charge, but Tina had been very clear early on that he had an important role here. She said he had seen the larger issues at stake before anyone else, and they all said he was the one with the ideological position that would give them a real platform. Something more than just eking out a living as a ragtag band of rebels. He understood what they meant; he just couldn’t understand that his ideas were anything special. And what had happened at lunch, just a couple of hours ago, still made absolutely no sense to him.

“Come on in, Kenneth,” Tina said as he entered. He smiled at her and straightened enough that his head banged into the doorframe. Again. Thomas Dunn, who was sitting right next to Tina, barely managed to suppress a laugh, almost spilling his coffee. Kenneth grinned sheepishly.

“Just can’t seem to avoid it. Are the doors too small, or am I too large?” That made Tina laugh as well, and Thomas had to set his cup aside, as he gave up on suppressing his laughter. Kenneth sat down and grabbed a cup for himself.

“So, Mr. President, now what?” Thomas finally said. Kenneth cringed at the words, and Thomas smiled again, waiting for his response. Kenneth didn’t know how to respond, as the whole notion of leadership felt alien to him.

“I’m no president, Thomas. You’ve all got it wrong…” Tina set her cup aside and interjected.

“Well, you’re the closest thing we’ve got. Besides, the people have spoken. It’s you they want.” She was referring to the meeting a few hours before, where everyone had gathered over lunch and discussed their situation. Tina had made it clear that she would have no leadership role whenever the situation normalized, although she felt it was her duty to be a war commander, as she was still a soldier to the bone.

“I know this isn’t what you want, Kenneth, but the more I think about it, the clearer it becomes,” Thomas said. Tina nodded, while Kenneth just waited silently.

“Admiral Hamilton was the obvious choice, being a military leader and a political one as well. But they murdered him on the Trickler, leaving us without clear leadership. Major Hammer, well…” Thomas looked to Tina, who spoke when he didn’t seem to find the right words.

“I am a soldier, and I know how to lead soldiers. I know what people say I did in Port Hammer, and I appreciate it, but really, I just wanted to start a new life of my own. I don’t have the political vision, or the diplomatic skills, which will be so important when the war ends. You do. You know, in this group, you are the voice of reason. You’re the one who thinks of what will come, what kind of people we are, why it is so important not to become what we’re fighting.” She paused and gave him a warm smile, probably noticing his discomfort.

“Look, Kenneth, I promise to do everything I can to win our freedom, I really do. But it’s you we’re leaning on to know what to do when the fighting stops.” Kenneth flushed, staring down into his cup. The gathering had chosen him for this; who was he to decline it? Although he’d been estranged from Andrews’ America, he still had a sense of duty. Besides, why had he come here in the first place? Why had he been so exhilarated by the idea of starting over on a new world? What better opportunity to try and build the society he’d dreamed of, to found a nation built on the principles of the original Constitution? Thomas interrupted his private musings.

“So maybe we’re not quite there yet, but we have to start somewhere. We can’t just be a band of outlaws, and you know it. This is not just about being left alone; it’s about setting a direction for us all. This is it, as far as I know. We, right here on Aurora, are what’s left of human civilization. So where do we go from here? Well, you have the ideas, and as far as I’m concerned, you’re the closest thing to a president we’ve got. Seems those people outside agree with me as well.” Kenneth knew there was no way around this. Those people gathered today had chosen him to be their representative, their guide so to speak. He sighed heavily, looking toward the door. There were voices outside the cabin, and Tina motioned for him to listen. He didn’t hear what they were saying, but he knew they were expecting him to get out there and say something. Thomas leaned over and laid a hand on his shoulder, smiling.

“Remember that day by the perimeter? When you punched me, before we knew we were both on the same side? Well, I hadn’t trusted anyone before that day, but I decided to trust you. You have that effect on people, Kenneth. And now you have to trust yourself.” Kenneth smiled back at the younger man. Thomas Dunn had changed his life that day, when he finally gained a friend, someone he could open up to, after so many years. He was grateful beyond words.

“Now get out there, Kenneth Taylor. Go be presidential!” Thomas said, grinning. Kenneth slowly rose to his feet and walked back toward the door. This time he managed to avoid the doorframe as he went through. Outside at least fifty people had gathered, and more were coming from every direction. As he exited the cabin, the crowd raised a cheer. He shook his head and motioned for them to stop. The cheers subsided as Tina and Thomas stepped outside to stand beside him.

“This struggle has just begun,” he said loudly, and he noticed those in the front nodding gravely. It was important that they all knew there would be tough times ahead, president or no president.

“We’ve lost so many good men and women, in Fort Andrews, in the woods, on the Trickler…” The crowd went silent now, and he heard a few muttering curses from the back. Yes, there was a lot of anger, and he thought it was important to acknowledge that, in order to move on.

“If only there was a way to achieve liberty in a peaceful manner… But alas, history has taught us that freedom sometimes comes with a terrible price.” Now people were nodding again. These were brave men and women, who had gone where no one had gone before them, coming to Aurora. Then they had continued into the unknown, to seek liberty, some justice. He suddenly felt a warm kinship to every one of them, and it was something new for him. He guessed it could be compared to family.

“However, while we fight, we shall remain vigilant, aware of our own reactions, how we decide to act. Even we, who crave liberty with all of our hearts, may succumb to the darkness when stretched to the limit. Nietzsche once said something along the lines of: He who fights monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster. Which is what we need to do also. Here, in the Stronghold, we shall remain a beacon of light, to spread across the surface of this planet. We are winning the liberty we all deserve, slowly granted, but still. Those back in Andrews will see that, and Havelar cannot hold on to power forever. And when that power slips out of his hands, what we build here, the laws and morals we live by, will be the future of all men and women of Aurora.” He paused, as the crowd cheered.

He thought they looked happy now, and he realized that was his job, to give them something greater to believe in, something that gave their struggles meaning. He found himself finally accepting his new role, and taking it to heart. All this gave his own struggles meaning as well. The loss of his early career, the long years of silence back on Earth, the lack of true friendship. All things from which he would draw strength in the face of hardships. And now this, a purpose.

The light was receding, and some of the people lit torches. With the smell of food, the torches, his realization that something great was happening here, Kenneth felt a sudden impulse. Since coming to Port Hammer with Geena and Maria, there had been so much grief, so much fear and disappointment. Now, for the first time, he saw happy faces around him, and what better reason to celebrate? He noticed Tina and Thomas smile at each other. He cleared his voice.