Botanicaust (54 page)

From a partially open accordion wall came the arguing voices of a man and a woman.

Levi let go of her hand and headed that direction.
“
Samuel? Beth?
”

A woman emerged, dark purple dress covered by a black apron. Her cheeks were flushed from crying.
“
Levi. You should not have asked him
—
”
She looked toward Tula. With a gasp, she clutched the neckline of her dress.

“
Beth, it
’
s all right. This is Tu - Katie.
”

“
Katie.
”
The woman repeated, breathing like she
’
d been running.
“
Katie!
”

A memory tugged at Tula.
“
Bethy?
”
A
…
cousin?
…
called Bethany used to watch her and Eli when Mama went to quilting.

“
It
’
s not
—
you can
’
t
—
did you?
”
Beth gasped and looked like she was about to faint.

“
Get her a chair,
”
Tula commanded without thinking. She moved forward to take Beth
’
s arm and guided her to a seat.

“
Katie, you look like your mother.
”
Beth panted and lowered her head between her knees.

Tula looked down at the white bonnet covering Beth
’
s thick hair, reminded of Mama bending to the laundry basket.
“
Bethy. You watched us when Mama quilted. Eli used to hide in the barn and drive you crazy with worry.
”

“
Yes.
”

Samuel looked stricken.
“
I didn
’
t tell her about Peter.
”

“
She is Peter
’
s lost daughter,
”
Levi replied, reinforcing a fact Samuel obviously hadn
’
t wanted to believe.

Samuel shook his head.
“
I don
’
t know what to think.
”

“
Trust your heart to Gotte
’
s Wille. He has shown you the truth in Beth
’
s recognition. Be not afraid to speak what
’
s right.
‘
God speaks through the unity of His People in Scripture.
’
You are one of those People, Samuel.
”

“
You know I
’
ve never been one to oppose the Brethren.
”

“
I
’
m not asking you to oppose them unless the Scripture tells you to. Vote your heart. And pray others do as well.
”

Beth raised her head.
“
We will all pray.
”
She stroked Tula
’
s hand,
then
clasped it with strong fingers.
“
Katie, please join us for supper.
”

At the human connection, tears filled Tula
’
s eyes. Love for this woman
—
her cousin
—
spread from that point of contact deep into her heart and through her body to the tips of her toes. She squeezed Beth
’
s fingers, holding back desperation.
“
Thank you, Bethy.
”
Even if the rest rejected her, Beth saw the truth.

“
Where
’
s Eily?
”
Levi asked.

“
The child is through here.
”
Samuel gestured.
“
She urinated behind Beth
’
s loom.
”
His voice grew gravelly with disgust.

Tula
’
s shoulders slumped.
“
She didn
’
t know how to ask.
”

Beth shrugged.
“
He gets more upset than he ought. It
’
s not like children haven
’
t made messes in here before.
”

Samuel didn
’
t reply, but Tula wondered if his face was always so red.

Beyond the accordion wall, a dun sofa and two hard chairs surrounded a low wood table near a fireplace. Askew on the table rested a chessboard with fallen pieces, dark wood versus
light wood
. Several pawns strewed the floor nearby. In one corner, an upright frame with a partially finished blanket looked undisturbed in spite of Eily
’
s transgression. Lacy curtains framed several large windows opened to the autumn breeze. Eily was nowhere in sight.
“
Eily?
”
Tula
’
s heart contracted in fear.

“
Look under the sofa.
”
Beth
’
s soft voice said.

Curled in a ball beneath the legs of the sofa, Eily didn
’
t move when Tula knelt and reached to pull her free.
“
Eily, it
’
s Tula.
”
Threads of loose fiber stuck to the girl
’
s tearstained face. Tula used the edge of her skirt to wipe at Eily
’
s cheeks.
“
Eily, do you need to
…
shit?
”
Cannibal terminology felt so crude now that she was among Old Order.

Eily shook her head.
“
Is Ana dead?
”

It was the first complete sentence the child had spoken in over twenty-four hours. Tula pulled her close and pressed her cheek to the child
’
s head, her chest fresh with ache.
“
Yes.
”

The girl started to sob, then clutched Tula tight about the middle.
“
I miss her.
”

“
We all do, Eily.
”

B
y the time Eily calmed, dusk had fallen, and Levi begged Beth to hold supper so he could tuck Josef in for the night. Tula balked at leaving the house, at leaving a slumbering Eily, but Levi insisted she needed to make herself known. To show the Holdout she was not a threat.

As he led her through the dusky streets toward the Ward, Tula had to remember to breathe normally. She could hardly pay attention to what he was saying as she caught sight of faces peering from house windows.

“
Not all the CF children are here. Most of them are with their families. Usually they don
’
t have serious problems until they reach their teens or twenties. All in all, there are only about twenty-five or thirty permanent residents at the Ward.
”

She glanced at the dozen or so houses along the street.
“
Thirty! How many people live in the Holdout?
”
In her childhood, Sabbath gatherings had been held in the larger homes, so there couldn
’
t be very many.

“
I think around three hundred. Counting babies and children.
”

They ascended the three steps to the porch of the quiet building. A door slammed from the house to her left, and she jumped, turning to see a dog straining against its chain in their direction. Across the wooden boards of the open porch, deep-throated growls rumbled toward them, but the creature didn
’
t bark. Tula felt rooted in place, gaze locked with the man-eater. Levi opened one of the double doors and tugged her inside.

Past a nurse
’
s station and the dark windows of the doctor
’
s office, two halls stretched in opposite directions and a wide staircase rose against the back wall. Levi led Tula to the left at a brisk pace, his head turning toward each of the open doors, although he didn
’
t slow down.

Many children already slept, small mounds beneath the blankets. The rooms held two or three beds each, although several only had one occupant. In one room, a mother had her back to them as she read a story to the child in bed. Tula had to double step to keep up as Levi sped past the open door.

At the end of the hall, gaslight glowed from the open doorway. In a chair next to the window, a sallow young woman in a blue dress sat crocheting. She looked up and put her yarn aside to rise from the chair.
“
I thought you might come
—
oh!
”
She stumbled back a step, bumping the chair against the wall. Her hands made the sign against evil as she spotted Tula.

“
Sister Amelia, this is Katie. I
’
m sure you
’
ve heard the gossip, by now.
”

“
You brought her with you.
”

“
Papa?
”
A small boy, hardly more than a skeleton, wrestled with the blankets and managed to sit up.

Levi perched himself on the edge of the bed.
“
Josef, this is the friend I was telling you about. She was captured by cannibals when she was no older than you are.
”

“
She
’
s a Blattvolk!
”
The dark circles of his eyes were as large as saucers. His breath started making soft, rhythmic whistles, and Tula had to resist the urge to rush to his side to help.

The nurse fumbled at the bedside table for an inhaler without taking her eyes off Tula in the doorway.

“
The Blattvolk saved her from the cannibals. But you know, I learned something. The Blattvolk are just people. Some of them are good. Some of them are bad.
”

“
And she
’
s a good one?
”
Josef dutifully sucked on the inhaler. Tula took a relieved breath herself as the whistling eased.

“
Yes. She rescued me.
”

Tula added,
“
And your papa rescued me back.
”

Josef stared at her as if surprised she
’
d spoken, but his eyes held only curiosity.
“
Were you a cannibal?
”

“
When I was as little as you, the cannibals broke through the fence. They
…
ate my brother.
”
Her voice cracked. Saying her memories out loud for the first time made her feel as small as the boy in the bed.
“
We
’
d snuck out of Sabbath to chase a hailstorm when the fence went out.
He was hurt
—
by our own dogs
. The cannibals ate him first.
”

She wavered on her feet, remembering the smell of cooking flesh, the hunger in her belly. She
’
d refused to eat then. But later
…

She had to take a backwards step to lean against the wall near the door or else fall down. Closing her eyes, she tried to shut out the memories, but that only made them worse. Sister Amelia made a small noise. Tula opened her eyes, focusing on the woman
—
the familiar and comforting bonnet at the back of her head, the compassion in her eyes. Levi had risen, and came to her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.