Botanicaust (49 page)

“
No, he
’
s not,
”
Tula
answered.
“
He
’
s shamed. He hurt that man. His people do not lift hands against each other. Or other people.
”

Ana nodded.
“
He broke the peace.
”

“
More than that. With his people, you
always
keep the peace. They
’
re not cannibals. If you want to stay with us, you have to learn.
”

“
What about the hunger times?
”
Eily asked.

Tula skirted a clump of amarantox.
“
They don
’
t eat people. No matter what.
”

“‘
Cept the dead.
No wasting,
”
Ana said.

“
Not even the dead.
”

Both girls snorted in disbelief or disgust, she couldn
’
t tell. How could she teach these girls about Levi
’
s peaceful ways when she
’
d failed to convert them in the first place? They were wild and willful, and in spite of her growing affection, she worried they would never fit in. She worried
she
would never fit in.

Levi set his pack down and stretched his back. The sun cast long morning shadows, promising Tula and the girls a good day of photosynthesis. Tula stuffed her robe into his pack with a tired grin, and he didn
’
t admonish her nakedness. She needed her strength. They
’
d trudged the dry plains from sunset to sunup for four nights, keeping watch for the rising smoke of Blattvolk flame runners. This
far east
, he thought they might be safe.

Ana returned from her foraging empty handed.
“
I see hunters. They look for a Spirit Healer.
”
She raised a skinny arm to point west along their back-trail.

Levi stiffened.
“
Where
’
s Eily?
”

Eily chimed from Tula
’
s side.
“
Here.
”
She must have returned from the other direction.

His heart hammered with worry. He no longer cared about violence. Only survival. They
’
d set a grueling pace, and the twins had probably doubled the distance during their food gathering. He squinted into the sunrise. A smudge of white hovered across the horizon. Clouds?
Or the exhaust steam from the methane stack at the Holdout?
“
We
’
re not far, now. Can you keep going?
”
He made walking motions with two fingers. They all seemed to get along best using a mish-mash of languages, and he wanted to be sure he was understood.

Mute nods all around.

Everyone drank, and gulped down the desiccated chokecherries and raw insects the girls had gathered. Leaving the pack where it lay, Levi set a stride he thought they could sustain for another few hours, but his feet ached, and his eyelids drooped with exhaustion. As they drew farther east, the cloudbank on the horizon clarified into an artificial plume.

Home
.

Levi pointed ahead.
“
That
’
s where we
’
re going. The gate is on the south side. No matter what, don
’
t touch the fence.
”

Tula reiterated it in Cannibal for the twins.

The sun hovered directly overhead when they crested a swell, and Levi spied movement on the plain behind them
—
three male figures moving at a trot in spite of the limp of one man. The cannibals spotted Levi and the injured man raised an arm menacingly toward him.

“
They see us.
”
Tula said near his side, her voice quavering in fear.

“
Run.
”
Past the point of panic, he spoke low, without inflection. How could they hope to beat hardened cannibals in a sprint for the Holdout?

Tula and the girls picked up and ran. Levi stayed a heartbeat longer, watching as the hunters descended into a swale five hundred yards away. As soon as they were out of sight, he turned and loped after the girls. The Holdout was a quarter mile away. If the cannibals caught up, he wanted to be the first to confront them. Violence
be
damned. Peace had a different set of rules out here.

On the other hand, the Holdout wouldn
’
t let Tula or the twins inside without his presence. They may not let the Blattvolk inside at all, with or without him. But he had no other options. He kept close behind Tula.

As they approached, the fence solidified against the pale blue sky. The metal links rose fifteen feet into the air, topped by coils of barbed wire. Inside, a gleaming white water tower marked where a cluster of houses squatted in the center of the fields. The Elders must have finally approved re-painting. How long had he been gone?

The faint hum of electric current grew louder as they neared the perimeter. Freshly burned weeds drooped at the base of the fence line. Inside, a tractor turned a field in preparation for planting winter wheat. Levi waved furiously.

The tractor stopped and the driver stood on the running board facing Levi
’
s direction.
Too far to pick out features, Levi tried to remember which family claimed this portion of co-op land.
A glance over his shoulder showed him the determined faces of the pursuers. From the Holdout, a bell struck its first chord of warning. Levi knew the drill. Everyone would abandon chores and retreat to the tunnels. The only ones left outside would be old Peter the Gatekeeper, and a few volunteer handlers for the dogs.

Ahead, Tula and the twins reached the gate. Peter stood outside his stone house a hundred paces in, mouth agape.

“
Peter! It
’
s Levi!
”

The old man couldn
’
t take his eyes off Tula and the girls. Several men charged up from the village, restraining the dogs on leashes. Among them Levi saw Brother John, an Elder who had been willing to listen to Levi
’
s request to search for a cure, and Abe, one of Levi
’
s playmates in youth. The dogs lunged against their restraints, barking and yowling in anticipation.

“
Levi?
”
John let the dogs pull him forward a few steps.

“
Cannibals are after us! Let us in! I
’
ll explain later.
”

“
Blattvolk!
”
one of the handlers yelled. In his panic, he lost hold of the beast he
’
d been restraining. The creature leaped forward, facing off with Levi without touching the fence. The hackles between its shoulder blades looked like the edge of a serrated knife.

“
Platz!
”
Levi commanded the dog to stand down. Every child in the Holdout was taught dog commands as soon as they could speak. Trained to fight cannibals, the canines could be indiscriminate in who they attacked. The dog trembled but moved back, hackles lowering a fraction. Levi peered back over his shoulder to see the pursuers huddled about twenty yards back. The hunters strafed apart, flanking the gate on both sides with the remaining cannibal facing head on.

“
You bring us abominations!
”
Brother Abe spit at his feet to punctuate his disgust.

“
Cannibals.
”
Levi pointed to the men ducking behind the amarantox. Standing as near the fence as he could without touching, he called each man by name.
“
Brother Abe. Brother Marcus. Brother John. By leaving us out here, you condemn us to die.
”

Peter shouted. Tula screamed. Levi spun to face her. The cannibal on the left darted in and grappled with her. Levi threw his arms around her to keep her from being pulled away. A collective gasp from the men inside the fence frightened off the attacker, and he retreated into the amarantox.

“
Please.
”
Levi didn
’
t let go of Tula. The twins crowded close, cowering against his sides.
“
Abe.
”
He looked his former schoolmate in the eye.

“
You are in the
Bann
.
”
Slowly, the men turned their backs. The dogs continued barking. Peter stared agape a moment longer before Brother John bumped him with his elbow. He shook his head and went back inside his house.

Shunned.

His own people refused to help him. Hope was lost. He looked down at Tula, loosed his grip about her. Only one way left to save her.
“
When they take me, you and the girls run. As far and fast as you can.
”

He took a long, purposeful step backward toward the amarantox.
Toward the hunters.
He raised his chin to glare at his brethren beyond the fence and balled his hands into fists.
“
May God have mercy on your souls!
”

“
Levi, no!
”
Tula grabbed his hand and pulled. Her gaze widened and she screamed as the sound of thundering footsteps approached. The next thing he knew, he was airborne, headed face first into the electric fence.

Tula clutched Levi
’
s hand as a cannibal burst from the amarantox and tackled him. The force of the impact yanked her to the ground and tore Levi
’
s hand from hers. Both men tumbled into the fence. The pop of electric current, followed by the smell of seared flesh, filled the air as both men jerked and flew back off the grid.

Scrambling on all fours to Levi
’
s side, she felt for a pulse. There. He was alive. But the other two cannibals were creeping forward from opposite angles. The third cannibal lay prone within an arm
’
s length. Ana and Eily grabbed Levi
’
s feet and dragged him toward the gate. They stopped shy of the wire and bounced on the balls of their feet anxiously.
“
They not let us in,
”
one of the girls said.

“
No,
”
Tula said on a breath. Tears filled her eyes, fell onto burn lines on Levi
’
s cheek.

She traced the pink scar on her arm. No mercy for abominations.

The men kept their backs to the fence. Across rigid shoulder blades, suspenders crossed each man like an X, barring supplicants from access. The vicious dogs drooled and barked, drowning out the twins as they clumsily recited the Lord
’
s Prayer. The older man, the one Levi called Brother John, adjusted his black brimmed hat and glanced over his shoulder without making eye contact. He leaned close to one of the other men and muttered.