Botanicaust (23 page)

A gust of wind fanned nearby embers to life, shredding the cloud of tamarisk fumes over the pond. The roar of the burning trees had subsided to crackling and eventually only an occasional snap.

Trying to clear the remaining fluids, Tula drew oxygen into her lungs as deeply as she could. Coughing bent her double until her stomach muscles cramped. She told herself that she was safe. The duster was gone. Mo was gone. Tears trickled from the corners of her eyes. Everything was gone. Lying in the aftermath of a Burn Operation, she realized she couldn
’
t go back to the Protectorate.

What was she going to do now?

You
’
re going to survive. You
’
re going to help Levi get home. Find a way to contact the Board and explain
. She held onto the thought of reaching his people. Arnica had wanted her to make contact all along. Maybe the Board would be lenient once they recognized what she
’
d accomplished. All the peaceful converts she could offer.

After what felt like hours, she found the strength to sit up and look around. Their safe haven was destroyed. The tamarisk stand reduced to blackened nubs. All that remained of the stalks Levi called cattails were fragile towers of crumbling ash.

Next to her, Levi lay on his back with one arm flung up over his eyes. Grime and slimy bits of waterweed caked his skin. Looking at her own legs, she saw she, too, was contaminated. A long green tendril looped around her ankle, and she fumbled to rip it away, looking for blisters. She crawled toward the edge of the sooty water to rinse off.

On the far edge of the lake, the basket with their empty water bottles wallowed among loose items from the first aid kit.

Levi gained his feet while she trailed ashy boot prints to the scorched spot against the rock face where the shelter lay smoldering. Mo had kicked coals off her sandals. Close to tears, she picked them up. The fire-blackened nuvoplast had cracked but might still be wearable. Her yellow robe and the blanket peeked from beneath a sifting of ash, the flame retardant microfibers intact.

Pulling the fabric free and shaking off the ash, she turned to see Levi staring down at the curled pages of his notebook. He squatted and brushed a fingertip over the top. The edges crumbled to dust. Lifting what was left, he carefully opened to paper darkened by fire. Then he reared back and heaved the notebook across the beach. It shattered into flakes and scattered in the desert wind.

Face cut by anguish, he plunged into the lake. Her heart broke for him. From what she
’
d gathered, those drawings might have been all he had left of the woman called Sarah. She watched him churn toward the far side of the pond, his usually graceful strokes violent.

A hermetically sealed packet of allelopathic pills bobbed a few feet from shore. She waded out to grasp the medicine. It might help her get through a few days with no shade. And maybe by then, she
’
d develop enough tolerance to continue.

Draping the robe over her head, she watched Levi cut a return path across the water
’
s filmy surface, towing the basket behind him. He
’
d lost his notebook and a few weeks of freedom, but he could go back to his old, peaceful life.

And she had time to convince him to convert.

A
s Levi gathered their scattered supplies, he prayed for guidance. Seeing his notebook
’
s images crumble to dust in his hands was like losing Sarah all over again.

He upended the basket, showering water bottles onto the rock, then stalked past Tula without a glance. She called his name, but he ignored her. He couldn
’
t look at her without accusation. If her people hadn
’
t captured him, he
’
d be with Josef right now. Curing him.
Making things right.
The Blattvolk were a worse atrocity than his people understood.

Diving back into the lake, he set out to gather packages of gauze and pills with foreign labels. His hat had been destroyed. He should have set out days ago, but he
’
d waited around for Tula to get better. He shoved a roll of adhesive into the basket. His debt was repaid. He needed to stop being so compassionate for others and put his son first.

To his right, the glossy dark head of a muskrat broke the surface, looked at him, and dove again. Levi
tread
water. The muskrats were out of luck, as well. The pond would regenerate, but not until spring. Would they have enough food to survive the winter? He shook it off. The muskrats were the least of his concerns. But the homeless creature made him even more furious with the Blattvolk.

At the other end of the lake, Tula stood hip deep in the water, fishing a last few packets from the first aid kit out of the lake. She stretched a little deeper,
eyes
wide with fear. He was impressed she would even get her feet wet after what she
’
d been through. A small twinge of guilt plucked his soul.

When the loud speaker from the flyer had come on, it had sounded like they were inviting her back. But she
’
d hesitated. He wished he knew what they
’
d offered her - or threatened her with. Or more likely threatened
him
with. Saving him had cost her everything.

And he resented owing a Blattvolk so much.

He pulled back to shore and looked over the supplies, still refusing to acknowledge her. She
’
d filled the water bottles and placed the items she
’
d retrieved in a pile nearby. The water in the bottles might last two of them a day. He guessed the river might be a day and a half or two days walk. If she wanted to come, it would be a thirsty walk.

Shoving the gear into the basket, he lifted it to his shoulder and turned north. He stared at the horizon for a heartbeat. Tula remained silent behind him. With one hand, he gestured for her to follow and set out into the plains without looking back.

The air away from the pool was like opening an oven. His sweat evaporated before it could cool him. As the sun beat upon his head, he longed for his straw hat. The scrubby brush and amarantox dotting the plain shimmered with the bronze cast of waning autumn. Had they started the harvest? Was Josef getting enough to eat?

“
Levi, what is called
—
?
”
Tula pointed to a rock. Next to it a shiny black scorpion hid in the shadow.

“
Skorpion.
”
He clipped. He would have left it at that, but she squatted close to the creature and reached for it.
“
Danger!
”

She jerked back and continued following him. His long strides didn
’
t seem to stress her, and now that he
’
d spoken to her, she chattered at him, asking all kinds of words. Rocks. Mountains.
Trees and shrubs.
He answered in monosyllables, and she eventually grew quiet.

They reached the river much sooner than he expected, just as the sun hovered full and orange over the western mountains. Tula fell behind, staring at the stretch of lazy water from a rise. He hadn
’
t thought about crossing, but he
’
d obviously have to find a bridge rather than swim.

He ground his teeth. Again, she was slowing him down.

Speeding his walk, he left her to gawk and pushed through a stand of tamarisk to a sandy spot next to the water. The rough handles of the basket had rubbed his shoulders raw, and he dropped it at the edge of the trees. Tula remained on the plain, but he ignored her. She could join him or not, as she liked. It wasn
’
t like she needed food or anything. His stomach rumbled. He had cattail roots in the basket, but he wished for another juicy muskrat. He set about bending the needle from the sewing kit into a hook, in case he found fish in the river.

While his line drifted in the shallows of the river, Levi lay out his blanket at the edge of the thicket and rested his pack against the roots of the trees. He built a small driftwood fire,
then
set about filling the water bottles.

Tula still hadn
’
t joined him, and he worried, but not to the point of looking for her. He glanced up the hill and had trouble spotting her in the falling light.

His throat tightened in guilt. She didn
’
t deserve his poor treatment. Or to be blamed for the Blattvolk atrocities. She
’
d chosen to do the right thing and, deep in his soul, he knew he needed to forgive. He felt God would grant forgiveness, green skin or not. So why was he so angry?

He turned to the thicket to fetch Tula and froze. Between the trees, a foreign face glared at him, dark eyes glittering in the firelight. He was, for a brief moment, reminded of Awnia as she thrust the pencil into the Blattvolk
’
s neck.

And then a cry from behind him spun his attention the other direction to see a man wielding a long knife launch out of the branches. On instinct, Levi
’
s arm flew up to ward the blow, and the blade raked his arm. The momentum knocked him backward and sent the man
’
s blade flying.

Excruciating pain as his shoulder landed square in the fire made him shout obscenities. The woven shirt smoldered against his skin. He tried to roll away as another person joined in with a volley of kicks to Levi
’
s shoulders and back. All he could do was protect his face as the man pummeled him with his fists.

Tula watched Levi from the rise beyond the tamarisk. She
’
d taken the allelopathic suppression pills before they left the pool, thankful they kept the drunkenness at bay, but the side effects made her tired. She wanted to curl up on a soft bed and rest. He hadn
’
t even noticed she
’
d fallen behind. Since the duster, he
’
d been snappish and reticent. She didn
’
t understand what he was thinking, but he obviously didn
’
t want her along.