Lady Grace & the War for a New World (Earth's End Book 2) (10 page)

12

“Mom?” Jeremy whispered. “Are you asleep?”

“No. I can’t sleep.”

“Me, neither.”

The events of the day and talking about Shri Rinpoche had shaken her up. Veronica could hear Sam’s gurgling snores and steady inhalations of breath.

“Mom, we’ve been saying all this stuff about being friends and trusting each other. I need to get straight with you. We can’t just go ‘Nicey-nicey, everything’s fine.’ Because it’s not. A lot of stuff happened.
You
did a lot of stuff.” His voice was low, but very intense. He turned up the electric lantern so they could see each other.

She dreaded what he had to say.

He glared at her. “Did you and Dr. Tambourg set me up?”

“What do you mean?”

“He diagnosed me as a high-functioning autistic. He told everybody at the school and
everywhere
about it. I spent my life with everyone thinking I was nuts. Did you tell him lies about me?”

She sat up. “We concocted that diagnosis, yes. You aren’t autistic. You have a genius-level IQ. I took you to Dr. Tambourg because I needed to protect you. Do you remember all the tests Dr. Tambourg gave you? For days?”

“How could I forget?”

“He needed to know what you are, and he found out. Dr. Tambourg came up with that diagnosis because it protected you. Your ‘disability’ allowed me to supply you with the materials you needed for your work. Computers, satellite hook ups. Things that were illegal for everyone else. You were able to build the shelter because of that diagnosis.
Sam
is alive because of it. Mark Tambourg was the most respected psychiatrist in the country. He covered for you with the military, the FBI, and with Special Forces. He put his life in jeopardy for you.”

“Why?”

“Because he was a good man. And because he knew you could save our world if you were given enough time and the materials to do it. He was a revolutionary, Jeremy. I became active in the resistance because of him. You knew revolution was coming.”

“Yeah. And I knew you were working with us. But …”

“You were still lonely. And afraid.”

“You left me, Mom. You stuck me in my ‘basement pad’ at the school and took off with … Well, who was the first after daddy died? Do you even remember?” Jeremy rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. “Fuck!”

Her stomach lurched. This was it: what really held them apart. “I don’t remember who it was.”

“Dicks! Just dicks, weren’t they?” He glared at her, hands forming fists. “You left me for a bunch of dicks!”

“Yes, that’s all they were, for years. Dicks that I used and dicks that used me. But it wasn’t quite so simple.” Her eyes locked on his. She had to make him understand. “Jeremy, did you ever wonder how I knew Mark Tambourg?”

“You knew everyone.”

“I knew many people, but people in society, and politicians and industrialists. I stayed away from intellectuals. They ended up in camps. But I knew Mark. Why?”

Jeremy shook his head.

“Why would anyone know a psychiatrist?”

“You were seeing a
shrink
?” He looked incredulous.

“Yes. I suffered terribly in my years of entertaining dicks. I felt like something was devouring me inside. I couldn’t stop what I was doing. So I went to a psychiatrist.”

Jeremy’s eyes widened and he turned away.

“I don’t want to talk about this, either, but I think we need to. And I think clearing it up is the only way we’ll be a real family.”

He turned back to her, looking guarded.

“The way I acted was a disease. But Mark said he could cure me.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I met with him four days a week when I was in New York and talked to him on the phone when I was traveling. I did it for more than two years.”

“Did it work?”

“Not at all. Same anguish, same desire.” She made a bitter little snort.

“Why didn’t it work?”

“Mark told me that whatever made me act the way I did was so buried that I hadn’t gotten desperate enough or shook up enough to make it surface. Whatever it was didn’t matter—once the general fell for me, I was his prisoner. What a fool I was, Jeremy, to think that I could tame a monster. Or get away from him.

“That’s when I really abandoned you, darling. Not only was I the general’s prisoner, I stayed away so that he didn’t find out how smart you are. You would have ended up in a bunker in Siberia, designing things for him.

“I was a rotten mother and a terrible person. I didn’t want to be bad, Jeremy. I tried as hard as I could to stop.” She felt a million years old, her face drawn. Jeremy stared at her. She couldn’t read his expression.

“I’m not like that anymore, I swear to you.” She knew he would never forgive her. Trying to work things out with Jeremy was as useless as going to that shrink.

Veronica pulled herself out of bed and into a crouching position, as though she were going to run down the corridor and leap out the container’s door. But she couldn’t move, Sam was in the way. She looked around wildly. When she saw no way out, Veronica fell on her side, sobbing. The brave front she’d kept up crumpled.

Her hands covered her face and tiny cries escaped her. She felt Jeremy put his arms around her, trying to make her calm down, but the black despair she’d known with the general consumed her. Hope didn’t exist; her life was ruined and she couldn’t fix it. Veronica felt herself spiral downward, scarcely registering Jeremy’s pleas. Her body stiffened and her hands became claws. She wasn’t aware of anything.

“Mom! Mom! Wake up.” Jeremy shook her. “Sam! There’s something wrong with my mom!”

Sam moved so fast he was a blur. He lay next to her, cupping her with his body. One arm curved over her head, and the other stroked her rigid limbs. He whispered in her ear.

Her arms relaxed. Sam lay them down softly and kept his arm around her, stroking her with the other hand. He kept whispering to her. She felt very sleepy, almost drugged.

“Sam, is that you?” She opened her eyes. “Is that you, Sam?”

“Aye,” he said.

“Oh, I’m so glad. I thought you were gone. Is it another time, Sam?”

“Yes, lady. I’m here. Sleep.”

Jeremy couldn’t get the way she had looked at Sam out of his mind. So soft and sweet, unlike the way she was with other men. He knew his mother had thought he was their old headman, Sam Baahuhd. People wondered if she and old Sam had ever been lovers. Jeremy knew they hadn’t been.

It was a new time, a new world. But was it one that permitted love?

13

Jeremy found himself standing on a flat rock shelf high above a rolling plain. The shelf was hundreds of feet deep and a thousand feet long, cut out of a much larger cliff face. They were in a broad cave stuck into a rock mountain. A stone arch curved above them, sheltering them from the elements. Some ancient adobe buildings were on the end of the shelf, down from their container.

He ran to the edge of the ledge. A river meandered in the valley below. Big bright green trees followed the river, and the banks along both sides were lush and green. They could grow things down there. They had water. He ran back to the container to tell the others when he saw it: Another crate stood behind theirs. They’d sent the one with the weapons.

“Mom! Mom!” he dashed inside and stopped dead. His mother and Sam were cuddled together, their arms around each other. The sight brought him up short. They looked so tender, like they belonged together. It shocked him. It was like seeing his mom with Sam Baahuhd, if everything in their world had been different.

He shook his mother’s foot. “Mom! Mom! They did it.”

She raised her head sleepily. “What?”

“They moved us, and they sent the other container!”

She scrambled out of bed and to the open door. “Oh, my God, Sam. Look at where we are!” She stepped onto the shelf’s stone floor and looked around. They could see back to where the estate and bomb shelter were to the east. It was a long way. They could see any enemy coming for days.

“Oh, thank you, golden people.” She threw her arms over her head and danced in a circle. “Sam, look! They moved us! They gave us what we wanted.” She ran to him and hugged him as he emerged from inside. He stood blinking in the sun.

“I don’t hurt,” he said, unbuttoning his shirt so he could see the bandage on his belly. Veronica pulled aside the dressing and examined the wound.

“It’s healed, Sam. Not even a scar.” She removed the bandage. He walked into the sunlight and she gasped. “You look …”

Sam stared at his forearms and stomach. Jeremy also gawked. Sam wasn’t gray any more. His skin was flesh-colored like his own, a different color than Jeremy’s, but a regular human color. Sam’s skin tone was very fair with a pink/ivory cast. He had a redhead’s complexion. He looked up and Jeremy could see his face. Wide cheekbones, straight nose. Huge green eyes. The girls in his high school would have gone crazy over him.

“Sam, smile!” Jeremy called.

Sam did. His teeth were perfect and white.

His mother had put her hand to her throat and stood staring. Sam’s closely cut reddish hair sparkled in the light, as did his nubby beard. His chest and belly were exposed by the open shirt. Muscles covered his stomach, which was brushed with dark red hair.

“Oh …” Sam had noticed the river valley below. He staggered back, covering his eyes. Then he was doubled up on his knees. He put his hands over his head and groveled on the ledge.

“Oh, shit! He’s freaking out. He’s never really been outside like this. He just saw the area around the container before.” Jeremy rushed to him. “This is the outdoors, Sam. It’s beautiful. We’re on a ledge. That’s a river down there. There’s lots of space.”

Sam remained curled up.

“It’s OK. You’ll get used to it.” Jeremy couldn’t get Sam to respond.

“Sam, dear. Try these,” his mom placed a pair of sunglasses on his face. “The general’s own magic glasses. Guaranteed to cure fear of open spaces and everything else. I know it’s a shock, dear, but it will get easier.” She put an arm around Sam and rubbed his back. “See. That’s better, isn’t it? Just take it slow and easy.” She hugged him gently and helped him stand. “It’s a river valley, a very beautiful one. Don’t look until you feel up to it.”

“What on earth is that?” They were having a breakfast of K rations and bottled water when Veronica pointed to something in the sky. Sam and Jeremy looked up.

“It looks like junk,” Jeremy said. “Intergalactic junk.” He explained to Sam, “Before Earth blew up, we made so much shit—garbage—that some places got rid of it by shooting it out into space. Not to mention us putting up tons of satellites and space stations. Junk’s all over out there. On Ellie’s world, they did big sweeps to clean it up.” He whistled, looking at the approaching object. “It looks like a mountain of crap heading straight at us.”

The thing veered toward them, moving fast and aiming at the space between the containers and the ancient structures. It jerked a few times and sat down in the empty space. Dust and debris flew around; they had to turn their backs to avoid getting it in their eyes.

Once the mess settled, they approached the heap cautiously.

“Man! That’s more junk than I’ve ever seen,” Jeremy chortled. “Maybe it’s a present to go with the container. The only thing that kept me sane on Ellie’s world was the garbage. You can find lots of interesting things in it. I made some good …”

“Jeremy? Jeremy?” A high-pitched voice came out of the top.

“Ellie? Are you up there?” He craned his neck and stood on tiptoe, trying to see her.

She flew off the mound with one of her prodigious leaps and ran toward him. “Jeremy.” He leapt toward her, hugging her to his chest. He held her for the longest time, rocking from side to side, his face buried in her hair.

“Oh, baby. Let me look at you.” He held her at arm’s length and joyfully examined her. She was as lovely and sprightly as ever. Her silver curls bounced and her eyes gleamed. “You look great! They let you go!”

She nodded vigorously, clinging and wide-eyed. “I here.” But she didn’t look happy. “Jeremy. Bad happen,” she whispered.

“Don’t be scared, baby. You’re here now.”

Her eyes filled with moisture. “Jeremy. They take you away.”

“But we’re together now, Ellie. You’re safe.” He held her closely, stroking her tenderly. “I missed you so much. I love you.”

He bent down to kiss her, but she continued to clutch him, making the little chittering noise as she did when very upset. “Jeremy. Bad happen. Mother say bad thing.”

“What did Belarian say?” Jeremy was ready to fight. He hated that bitch.

Ellie looked at the mound of junk. They could hear noises of people moving on top. “No here, Jeremy. Is
bad
.” Her shoulders were hunched and her head bowed.

“OK. Let’s go over here behind the storage bin.” He led her behind the first container. “What did she say, Ellie?”

Her eyes brimmed with tears. “Mother say I stupid.”

“You’re not stupid, Ellie. You’re as smart as anyone and braver, too.”

“No. I stupid. Mother say I no speak lots and no write many words. I stupid. She say I only good for making babies.”

“What! That is not true. You’re wonderful. You’re sweet and kind and you understand people’s feelings. You dance and you’re musical. You’re beautiful. And you love me. More than anyone, ever. How could she say that?”

Ellie clung to his hands. “She say you no there, I have to make babies with …” She looked in the direction of the pile of junk.

“What! Did she make you do it with the other guys? Which one?” He spun toward the junk pile, fists clenched.

“No make me. I say no. She go to Henry and Mel and James. They say no and get mad and see elders. They send us here. Oh, Jeremy, no go away. No leave me. Please.”

“Baby, I didn’t leave you, they kicked me out. I promise that I will never let them get you. I will never let anything hurt you again. And I’ll never leave you.”

They clung to each other, painfully aware that such promises sometimes can’t be kept. He held her, petting and kissing her until she calmed down. “I’ll always love you, Ellie.”

“I love Jeremy, too. So much.”

He could hear the others and wanted to check out what she’d said with them. “Let’s go see what’s going on.” She clung to him like his soul.

“Hello, down there,” Henry’s baritone boomed out. “How the hell are we supposed to get down?”

“We’ll help you.” Veronica headed for the mountain of refuse. She couldn’t see him over the top of the garbage. “Why did they send you like this? They moved our containers very nicely.”

“Well, you’re prettier than we are, Veronica. I take our mode of transportation as a statement of their feelings. They are peeved at us, but not as peeved as we are with them.” He looked over the top, trying to find a way down. “I think we can climb down that satellite and slide down the jet wing. Yes, here I come.” He slid down and turned back to help Lena. “Take my hand, Mother.”

Mel and James stood up. James was wearing his Dog Master outfit from Earth’s last day. He’d made quite a stir when he had arrived posing as the famous dog trainer. The rest of them wore nothing except for extravagant hairstyles. “Hey you guys, we bought our way out of heaven!”

Veronica looked at the newly arrived group, flabbergasted by their appearances. “Henry, you don’t look a day over thirty. And Lena, you look like a girl. Mel, James, you look fabulous. All of you look thin, but fabulous. What did they do to you? And what’s with your hair?”

“The hair part’s the easiest. They loved James’s styling abilities. He kept us at the height of fashion, along with half the pets on the planet.” Henry patted his huge ‘fro. “The first thing I want to do is shave this thing. For the other part, they were working us into their breeding program. We had to be young to do that. Then they intended to exploit us, just like they did Eliana.”

Jeremy and Eliana came out from behind the storage container and walked toward the group. Ellie held back a little, clinging to Jeremy’s hand and pulling behind him.

“Mom, I’d like you to meet Eliana, my wife.” Jeremy scowled, as though he thought his mother wouldn’t like his choice. “Ellie, this is my mom.”

Veronica stood, transfixed by her daughter-in-law. Eliana was exquisite. She had a dancer’s long-legged, perfect proportions. Beautiful features. Entrancing silver eyes, silver ringlets spilling down her forehead. The way she stood and moved couldn’t be more graceful.

Veronica’s eyes widened when she saw Eliana’s hooves. “Oh.” She hadn’t noticed Eliana’s hooves in the video. Jeremy hadn’t said anything about them. When the girl clattered down the pile of junk, the noise they made had caught her attention. Seeing them up close was a shock. If your daughter-in-law had hooves, was it rude to comment on them? She decided not to.

“Oh, darling. You’re breathtaking.” She opened her arms to Ellie, who slowly let go of Jeremy and accepted a small hug. “Jeremy, what you said about Eliana didn’t come close to capturing her beauty.”

Sam stepped forward, looking composed behind his sunglasses.

“Sam Baahuhd, you rascal” Henry cried. “I never thought I’d see you again. Come over her and give your fishing buddy a hug.” Henry embraced Sam, who stood stiffly, looking like he might shatter into pieces.

“He just got out of the underground shelter, Henry. He’s a little shook up. He’s Sam’s five millionth grandson,” Jeremy said.

“From the line of Emily. And I have Arthur, too.”

“As I live and breathe, you could
be
your grandfather. Lord have mercy.” He kept pumping Sam’s hand. “Oh, we had some times. I’ll tell you all about them, bit by bit.”

“Let’s get you settled in and fed, and then we can talk,” Veronica said.

Jeremy looked over the valley below. “Mom! Look at that—those are
horses
. A whole herd of them.”

A bunch of horses, perhaps fifty, galloped to the river and waded in. They squealed and kicked, enjoying the water. They came in every color. Little ones trotted by their mothers. A few rolled on the sandy bank.

“Mom, you’re a great rider. All you need to do is catch them and train them.”

“Jeremy, I can ride, but I’ve never saddled a horse in my life. Sam Baahuhd did that. And I don’t have the faintest idea how to train one, much less catch them.”

“Lena knows how to train horses,” Henry said. They turned and looked at her. “She can shoot, too.”

“What are you talking about, Henry?” Lena exclaimed.

“You are always telling me about your life on the farm and how you and your granddad trained horses. And how you had to shoot if you wanted meat.”

“I was raised on a farm, that’s true. And I can shoot. We had to know how to handle guns to feed and protect ourselves. But I didn’t
train
horses.” She looked at the quizzical expressions on the faces around her. “After my daddy disappeared, my mama took me back home to the farm where she was raised. I grew up there with my grandpa and grandma and her. I didn’t move back to New York City until after I finished high school.”

“But you rode horses and helped train them?” Veronica asked.

“Well, yes, we had to ride if we wanted to go anywhere. It was that or walk. We didn’t have hover cars out there, not even regular cars. Everyone was poor, but we could feed ourselves and didn’t have to worry about the feds so much.”

“But you know how to ride?” Veronica said.

“Yes, I do. I also helped my grandpa train horses and mules.”

“Really?” they all said.

“Well, I wasn’t so much training them as acting as ballast. My grandpa couldn’t be the first to get on. He said he was so old that he’d go ‘splat’ if he fell off, plus he had a bad knee. He put me on the first few times a horse was ridden because ‘I was young and would bounce.’”