Botanicaust (50 page)

The girls finished their prayer and then Ana flung her arms about Tula
’
s waist and squeezed. Turning to her sister, she pulled her close. She looked Tula in the eye over Eily
’
s shoulder.
“
They
wants
a Spirit Healer. You gots to run.
”

With that, she released her sister and spun. In the blink of an eye, she lowered her head and plowed right into an oncoming cannibal. He snatched her up like a prize and tilted her upside down in a bear hug.
“
Gots one!
”
The other cannibal veered to join his partner. Together they disappeared into the amarantox, leaving their fallen comrade behind.

“
Ana!!!
”
Tula and Eily screamed together. They both lurched forward. Tula stopped shy of the crushed amarantox, holding tight to Eily
’
s hand.

“
Ana! Ana! Ana!
”
The child stretched toward the trail, sobbing.

Up until now, Tula
’
s losses had been her own.
Her job, Mo, her home.
Levi
’
s son still had hope, in spite of the Fosselite fiasco. But losing
Ana
was real. Final. Tula remembered her own ordeal with the cannibals, the way Brother Eli screamed as they ate him. Her life had come full circle. The little girl she used to be flooded her mind, and her final song welled up in her chest.
“
Jesus loves me, this I know
…
”

The music rose from her heart, her protection song, her acceptance song,
her
song of hope. As her tears cascaded down her face, she let the words soar to Heaven.

A clatter of metal drew Tula
’
s attention to the Holdout. Brother John and another man hauled Levi toward the fence while the old man, Peter, stood outside the open gate, staring at her. His ancient blue eyes watered the crevasses of his weather-lined face. His shock of white hair stood up around his head. She wondered where his hat was.

He reached out a gnarled hand.
“
Katie?
”

Tula
’
s heart stopped. The world swam before her eyes.

Her name was Katie.

“
Papa?
”
She mouthed without sound. He looked different, yet his eyes were the same. So was the set of his mouth above a beard gone white with time. She recalled sitting on his knee at the dinner table, playing with his pocket watch while he counted the numbers circling its edge. The slow ticking movement of the second hand.

My name is Katie
. She couldn
’
t breathe with her chest so full of longing for the childhood she had lost.

The men reached the gate with Levi in tow. Through the shock of her returned memories, Tula registered the others shouting Papa
’
s name
—
Peter. He moved slowly backward toward the fence, his face wracked with loss. His big-knuckled hand hovered in her direction. Tula blinked, trying to think clearly. Stars crossed her vision. If she didn
’
t move fast, she and Eily would be trapped outside.

Twisting, she grabbed the child by the arm. The girl screamed Ana
’
s name in protest but only half resisted as Tula dragged her to the gate.

Papa waited until she was inside, then shut the gate with a clang.

The men erupted.
“
Peter, what have you done!
”

“
Activate full alarm!
”

“
Watch the fence!
”

One man released his dog to charge Tula. Her childhood training returned, she shouted,
“
Platz!
”

The dog stopped.

“
It
’
s my Katie! Don
’
t you see? She knows the dogs!
”
Papa
’
s voice rose above the din. The alarm changed its rhythm from an ebbing and flowing wail to a blaring staccato.

Wave after wave of memories crashed against her as the dam retaining the past crumbled. Sneaking off into a hailstorm to catch ice with her brother. A crash of lightning and the tingling jolt across the wet soil as a bolt struck the nearby fence. The frenzy of the Holdout dogs attacking her brother and cannibals alike as the invaders swarmed the opening. A shudder passed through her as she recollected the scent of cooked flesh and she crumpled to her knees, hardly able to breathe.

In the back of her mind Tula was aware that Eily knelt with her forehead against the ground and keened.

The men caught the loose dog but kept it within inches of Tula
’
s bare shoulder. Tula smelled the creature
’
s breath as it snarled and panted. The rest held their dogs in check, in a circle around her and Eily. Levi lay forgotten in the dirt next to the small stone house.

Papa
’
s red face appeared and disappeared behind several sets of shoulders as the men blocked him from her.
“
Katie! My Katie!
”

She wanted to run to him, to press her face against the coarse spun cotton of his blue work shirt like she did when she was a child. But angry men blocked the way.

“
Go back into the house, Peter. Katie is dead. You accepted that long ago.
”

“
What do we do with them?
”

“
Put them back outside!
”

“
Let the dogs have them!
”

Papa bellowed and shoved his way past the men. Tula rose to meet him, heart like a bird in her throat. He seemed so much smaller than she remembered. Reaching a knobby hand to caress her cheek, he asked,
“
What did they do to you?
”

Abomination
. Shame flooded her, even though her mind argued against the feeling. The Protectorate had saved her, not damned her. She clutched his weathered fingers, tears clouding her vision.
“
Papa.
”

The siren fell to silence, and everyone froze. The dogs continued barking. A man emerged from the small stone house.
“
Platz!
”
he bellowed. The dogs ceased barking but growled low in their throats.
“
These two Blattvolk pose no immediate threat. Let us discuss our options like men.
”

Papa faced the man squarely, using one hand to thrust Tula protectively behind him.
“
My Katie has come home.
”

“
Peter, this isn
’
t the Katie you know. Be cautious.
”
The man focused past Papa
’
s shoulder to her.
“
You bear the Mark of the Beast. We owe no sanctuary.
”

She felt like she was five again, being scolded for sneaking out of Sabbath.
“
I was very young when the cannibals stole me.
”
Softer than a whisper.

“
She
’
s a Blattvolk!
”
another man cried, and his dog barked.

“
Platz!
”

Eily keened Ana
’
s name over and over. Torn between comforting the child, wanting to check on Levi, coming face to face with her forgotten papa, and worrying about her future, Tula shook with unsteady legs. She collapsed again next to Eily.

The man in charge raised a hand.
“
We will pray. Show them to the old milk house north of the orchard.
”
His stare bored into Tula.
“
If you try anything, we will loose the dogs, and no command you give will stop Gotte
’
s Wille.
”

Barely able to focus, Tula asked,
“
What about Ana? The little girl they captured?
”
She pointed outside the fence.
“
Please, we can
’
t leave her to the cannibals.
”

“
Ananananana,
”
Eily held herself in a tight fetal position.

“
I know, baby. I know.
”
She stroked the girl
’
s arm.

“
We cannot expose the entire village to attack a second time.
”

Tula
’
s throat tightened as she recognized the truth. She stared through the linked fence into the seductively calm amarantox. The unconscious cannibal remained where he had fallen, the only sign a struggle had occurred.
“
What about him?
”

The man rolled a shoulder.
“
We
’
ll keep the dogs here. Never seen a cannibal hit the fence a second time.
”

“
And Levi?
”

“
His family will care for him.
”

Papa clasped her shoulder.
“
Brother John, Katie
’
s coming home with me.
”

“
Peter, let the congregation
—
”

“
Come on, Katie.
”
He slid a hand under her arm to help her to her feet.

“
We have to bring Eily.
”
She tried to lift the child at the same time Papa pulled at her.

“
She can go to the milk house.
”

“
I can
’
t leave her alone. She just watched her sister get taken by cannibals.
”

“
She
’
s a Blattvolk, sweetheart.
”

Tula stiffened. She pulled herself from Papa
’
s grasp. His weathered hand contrasted with the green skin on her arm. Or was it that her skin contrasted his? She looked into his blue eyes. He was a ghost of memory
—
only a tiny part of who she had become. The corners of her mouth twisted into a frown so deep her throat hurt.
“
Papa. I
’
m a Blattvolk now.
”

Papa scowled.
“
That
’
s different.
”

“
How?
”
Tula shook her head.
“
You can
’
t condemn her without condemning me.
”

“
I
’
m not condemning her. I just want to take my daughter home.
”

“
Peter,
”
Brother John interrupted.
“
You can
’
t take her into your home. You live in the gatehouse. We can
’
t allow her near the fence controls.
”

Tula didn
’
t look at Papa. She wasn
’
t his little girl any more. She couldn
’
t regret her conversion.
“
I
’
ll go to the milk house. With Eily.
”
As she rose, she pulled Eily to her feet by pure strength and added,
“
Please pray for us.
”