Dawn (6 page)

In spite of myself, I started to like Lux. She seemed to be pretty no nonsense and straightforward. They were traits I could appreciate.

I followed her through various neighborhoods as we headed east of our location. She kept us off the streets for the most part as we traveled through backyards. It didn't seem like the Harvesters had made it this far into town yet though. Almost every home we passed felt deserted. It's odd how you can sense the absence of life around you. There's a stillness, a void you can't quite put your finger on. It's a lonely feeling that leeches hope from your soul, imprinting only emptiness.

Lux seemed to know exactly where she was going. There wasn't a moment of hesitation in her steps like she needed to decide her path. She seemed to know it by heart. I saw no reason not to follow her. If she meant us harm, she would have simply left us back at the store, not invited us to join her.

After walking for about two miles, we came to a small marina. Lux walked down one of the wood plank docks to a small yacht. She turned to me before stepping onto the platform at the back of the boat.

“Coming?” She asked, as I remained standing on the sidewalk at the head of the dock.

“Where exactly are we going in that boat?” I asked.

Lux crossed her arms in front of her.

“Out to the middle of the lake. Harvesters don't seem to be interested in coming out that way yet. We'll be safer.”

I remembered the last time I got on a boat. That ride didn't end too well with Jackson melting the hull and sinking it. But, I couldn't argue that Lux's plan wasn't brilliant. All we had to do was float down the canal and out onto Lake Ontario. The Harvesters were so busy on the mainland it would probably take them a while to even think to search the lake.

I walked down the dock and followed Lux onto the stern of the boat. Written on the back of it was the world
Sundancer
. The cockpit was furnished with an outdoor leather sitting area covered by a tan canvas awning. Lux walked through an enclosure where the helm station was located and threw her backpack, bow and quiver onto a table bolted to the floor situated in front of a wraparound white leather couch. She plopped down into the chair in front of the steering wheel and did something I couldn't see to switch the engine of the boat on.

“You might want to take a seat,” she told me, not bothering to look back at us but studying some illuminated monitors on the dashboard above the wheel.

I sat down and placed Rose on the table in front of me, holding her in place with my arms on either side of her small body. She gurgled for my attention.

When I looked down at her, her bright blue eyes danced as if she were excited about being on the boat. I just shook my head at her. Apparently she didn't remember the last boat ride we took together. If she did, I felt sure she would be crying instead.

Lux backed the boat away from the dock and out of the marina, setting us on our way up the canal. The sun was high in the sky and shone down through the two retractable sunroofs covering the deck.

“So, where did you learn how to drive a boat?” I asked Lux.

“This used to be my parents boat,” she told me. “I practically grew up on it.”

I looked over at the bow and arrows sitting on the table.

“How is it you’re able to shoot like that?  I doubt many people could have shot two arrows at one time and hit their mark.

“I was training to go to the Olympics in archery before the war started,” she told me, turning her seat around to look at us. “Of course, that all got shot to hell pretty quick when the Harvesters found out they needed our organs to survive.”

“So, I guess you were rich?” I asked, glancing around the boat, knowing it had to have cost a pretty penny in this time period.

“My parents were. I guess it really didn’t do them any good in the end though.”

“Why? Where are they?”

“Dead.”

She said it so matter-of-factly it took a minute for it to register.

“Mind me asking what happened?”

Lux shrugged. “Not much to tell really. They were in New York when the bombs fell.”

New York was the first major American city nuked in hopes of annihilating as many Harvesters as possible. I knew from history that the government believed the queen was there leading her war against humanity from somewhere within the city. Unfortunately, they were misinformed. She was nowhere near New York City when it was basically wiped off the map.

“I'm sorry,” I told her.

Lux shrugged. “Nothing to be sorry about. Shit happens.”

Lux stared at me and I could tell she wanted to ask me a question.

“What?” I asked, feeling uncomfortable underneath her scrutinizing gaze.

“What are you?  You have to be more than human to take out five Harvesters alone. I thought you
were
a Harvester until I saw the way you looked at that baby. You look at her like you care about her, not like she's a future bag of organs. So, what are you?”

“You wouldn't believe me if I told you,” I said.

“Try me.”

I didn't trust Lux enough to tell her the whole truth. Besides, she probably wouldn't believe me anyway. Who in their right mind would believe the story of my life?

“I'm an experiment of the queen's,” I said, deciding to tell half of the truth.

“What kind of experiment?” Lux asked with true curiosity, not fear.

“I have nanites like the Harvesters do, but mine give me special powers as well as their physical enhancements.”

“What kind of powers?”

“I can heal myself and other people.”

Lux sat up straighter at this news. “You can heal people?  Like heal a wound?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“Prove it.”

“I don't see why I have to prove anything to you.”

“You don't,” Lux said, apparently not being the sort of person to threaten me to do what she wanted. “But, I need to know if it's true. Please. It's important.”

The desperate look on her face made me realize just how important it was to her. I decided it wouldn’t hurt to show her what I could do considering the fact she was helping us while not asking for anything in return.

I looked around the cabin and saw a set of knives by a sink area. I moved Rose from the table to the wrap around seat for safety sake and walked over to the knives to retrieve one. Once I had the knife, I faced Lux and held out my hand palm up running the edge of the knife across my hand so she could see the cut for herself. Within a few seconds the cut healed itself.

“Shit,” Lux turned around and pushed the throttle to increase our speed down the canal.

“What's wrong?  Why was it so important for you to know for sure?”

“Nothing’s wrong. Not if you can heal other people too.” Lux glanced over her shoulder at me. “A friend of mind got shot yesterday when she and her family came to shore to get supplies. None of us are doctors so we can't get the bullet out without killing her for sure. Do you think you can heal a bullet wound?”

“Yes.”

Lux nodded and sighed in relief, focusing her attention on getting us down the canal as quickly as possible and into open water.

It didn't take us long to reach the middle of the lake where a grouping of five other boats similar to Lux's were floating close together in a loose circle. As we approached, I saw someone from each boat come out and point either a rifle or a shotgun in our direction. Lux didn't seem too alarmed by this show of firearms, and I had to assume it was simply a safety precaution meant to ensure no Harvester had commandeered the boat while Lux was on shore.

Lux brought us up beside one of the boats and pushed a button on the dashboard in front of her. I heard the clang of metal and assumed she just lowered the anchor to keep us in place.

She hopped out of her seat and said, “Come on. She's probably gotten worse since I left.”

Lux grabbed her backpack from the table and walked past me to the stern. I picked Rose up and followed her out.

A man stood at the back of the boat we were anchored next to with his shotgun lowered and at his side.

“How is she, Joe?” Lux asked the man as she took his offered hand to help her hop the short distance over to his boat.

“Not good,” Joe told her, lines of worry creasing his brow. “Were you able to find anything that might help?”

Joe looked to be in his mid-forties with black hair that was just starting to gray at the temples. He was heavy set and had a rather hairy torso underneath the tank top he wore. His brown eyes focused on me with curiosity.

“Who's the girl?”

“She's what I found to help. Trust me, Joe.”

Joe nodded. “I trust you, Lux. I'm just praying for a miracle right now.”

“I think I found it,” Lux told him, looking back at me with undisguised hope in her eyes.

Joe helped me cross over to his boat and Lux didn't lose any time by quickly leading me down a set of stairs to the living quarters below deck.

Lying across the dining table in the galley was presumably the body of the girl Lux had brought me here to help. Just from her short length, I could tell she was young, possibly not past the age of seven. I couldn't see her face because a woman with pale blonde hair stood next to the table obscuring my view. When she heard us come down the steps from the deck, she turned to face us. It was apparent she had been crying because her eyes were blood shot and the skin around them raw from wiping at her tears. She looked to be in her mid-thirties and well along in a pregnancy.

“Lux,” she said, her voice desperate for hope, “did you find anything that can help?”

“Yeah, this girl can heal her.”  Lux looked back at me as I stepped off the last step onto the cabin floor. “Uh, what's your name by the way?”

“Skye,” I told them

Lux looked back at the woman. “Skye can heal her wound for us.”

“You seem a bit young to be a doctor,” the woman commented, eyeing me warily.

“I'm not a doctor,” I told her. “But I can heal your daughter's wound if you'll let me.”

“And how do you plan to do that if you're not a doctor?  Are you some sort of miracle worker?” The woman asked as a joke.

“I have a... gift,” I said. “I have the power to heal people.”

The woman looked to Lux like she thought maybe I was off my rocker or some sort of charlatan looking to make a quick buck.

“It's true,” Lux said, nodding her head in affirmation of my claim. “I've seen it. Let her try, Martha. We don't have anything to lose and everything to gain.”

Martha hesitated for just a moment before nodding and taking a step away from her daughter, silently giving me permission to come closer.

I stood motionless as the face of the girl was revealed to me.

The base of her twin blonde pigtails were wrapped with pink silk ribbons tied in perfect bows. Her pale flawless skin was a mask of death. My heart felt like it was about to beat out of my chest as tears spilled unhindered from my eyes. I stared at the little girl who I first met trapped inside her own son's protective shield only to be awakened into a world she would sacrifice everything for. A girl who would in time become one of my best friends and grow into a woman who would provide us a way to salvation.

I looked at Zoe and wept.   

CHAPTER SIX

“What's wrong?” Lux asked me, worried by my reaction. “Is she too far gone? Will your power not work on her?”

Without taking precious seconds to answer, I walked up to the table and handed Rose to Zoe's mother, not for one second worrying about her safety in the other woman's arms. Martha was her grandmother after all.

I yanked the white sheet off of Zoe's body and threw it to the floor. I pulled up her shirt and peeled back the white gauze bandage covering the wound in her abdomen. They'd been able to keep it clean but not much else. I placed both my hands over the wound and felt my healing power kick in without even having to think about it. It had become second nature to me now. All I had to do was see the wound and my power immediately activated, knowing what to do without me having to concentrate on the miracle of my unique power. Within a few short minutes, I knew the wound had been healed. I pulled my hands away from where the bullet hole had been to find it completely healed, not even a scar remained.

“My god,” I heard Martha say breathlessly, “how did you do that?”

I ignored the question and looked up at Zoe's face. I reached out and traced the side of her cheek with the tips of my fingers wishing I could talk to my friend just one more time. She looked almost exactly like the first time I met her, small and innocent. I prayed she would open her eyes and look at me. I desperately wanted just one more minute with her even though I knew in this time line I would be a stranger to her. But, I didn’t care. I just wanted to be with her one last time.

It was strange to think how entwined our lives were. Fate always seemed to pull us together when we needed each other the most. It couldn't just be coincidence that Ash brought me back to this particular point in time, this particular city just by random chance. Perhaps there was a higher power somewhere in the universe guiding us, forever making us a part of each other’s lives.

I waited patiently to see if Zoe would open her eyes but she didn't. Her breathing was steadier now though, and I could only assume her body still needed time to recover from the shock it had sustained from the gunshot wound.

“She'll be fine,” I told Lux and Martha, letting my hand fall back to my side and giving up on being reunited with Zoe even in this small way.

“Thank you,” Martha said on the brink of tears, holding Rose in the crook of her arm and absently rocking her like it was just second nature to do such a thing with a baby. “I don't know how you did it, and I don't really don't need to know, but I owe you everything for saving my baby.”

“Why isn't she waking up?” Lux asked.

“I healed the wound, but her body is probably still in shock,” I answered. “I think she just needs some time to rest.”

Martha handed Rose back to me.

“I should go tell Joe,” Martha said, leaning down to kiss her daughter on the forehead.

Before she left to go up to the deck, Martha did something completely unexpected and turned towards me to give me a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you. Thank you so much. You're a gift from God.”

Not really, I thought to myself. I wondered what Martha would think if she knew I was actually a miracle of the genetically engineered variety just like her daughter was. I glanced down at her protruding stomach and wondered if the child within her womb had been naturally conceived or if the queen had been allowed to tamper with it as well.

I would have asked, but it's not exactly a question you pop on strangers.

While Martha was on deck telling her husband about the small miracle I had been able to perform, Lux asked, “Why did you start crying when you saw Zoe?  It almost seemed like you knew who she was.”

I shook my head. “If I told you, I doubt you would believe me. It's probably better if you don't know everything about me, Lux.”

Lux shrugged her shoulders. “Keep your secrets. I'm just glad I found you. I guess it was fate.”

Fate. There was that word again. It seemed like everything in my life had been leading me towards something. I could only assume that something involved the death of the queen. What else would provide the world with the new beginning it so desperately needed?  I just hoped when the time came to do what had to be done I wouldn't fail. I couldn't fail. Too much had been sacrificed for me to even consider failure an option.

I allowed myself the luxury of looking at Zoe, but felt the edges of the hole she left in my heart burn with grief. I missed her. I desperately wanted my friend back.

Rose waved one of her small hands at me as if trying to remind me she was still there. I looked down at her and realized Zoe hadn't completely left me. She had gifted me with small bits of herself in Rose and Simon. As I stared into Rose's eyes, I felt the bond between us strengthen with this new realization. 

“She's so beautiful,” Martha said as she made her way back down the steps leading from the deck. “She reminds me of how Zoe looked when she was a baby, same beautifully curious blue eyes.”

I looked back down at Rose and saw her looking up at me smiling and moving her hands in the air like she was happy to have my full attention.

“I hope we somehow win this war,” Martha said to me. “Our babies deserve happy lives.”

I nodded in agreement, looking into Rose's eyes and promising, “You'll have a free and happy life, no matter what the cost.”

“I hope you can keep that promise,” Martha said. “I fear the cost may be high though. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen?”

I met Martha's gaze and said, “I am.”

Martha nodded. “Good. Keep hold of that strength, Skye. I'm afraid you'll need it to stay sane in the days to come if they don’t find a way to stop the Harvesters soon.”

I felt an urge to tell Martha what her family's destiny was but didn't. I realized it was the same dilemma Ash must have to face every time he traveled back in time to see his parents. If I said too much, I could change the past. But, would that be such a bad thing?  I wasn't sure. The only problem was the fact that I knew what the future held, and I didn't want to do anything to jeopardize the dawning of the sun from truly happening in my time line. If I told Martha her family would soon be sent to a breeding camp and that a nuke would destroy everyone there except for Zoe, would she even believe me?  Would there be a point in telling her such a thing if it couldn't be changed?  The world was at war. I seriously doubted there was anything I could do at this point in the past that would change the events of my present for the better.

Martha invited us to stay to eat with her while we waited for Zoe to wake up. To my surprise, Lux pulled out some T-bone steaks from her backpack. I couldn't remember the last time I had steak. For so many years my daily consumption of food mostly consisted of whatever canned items Ash and I could scavenge. Though you had to be careful with what you ate. Even canned foods could go bad but most seemed to be able to last longer than their posted expiration dates.

Lux and Martha set about cooking the steaks, baked potatoes and fresh salad.

While they cooked, I couldn't help but stare at Zoe as she continued to sleep. She looked almost exactly like I remembered her the first time we met.

“How old is Zoe?” I asked Martha.

“She'll be seven in a couple of months,” Martha told me, wiping her hands with a kitchen towel as she came to stand beside me. “How old is... what's the baby's name?”

“Rose,” I told her. “She's only four months old. Have you picked out a name for your baby yet?”

“Piper,” Martha said with a smile on her face as she rubbed her protruding belly, “Piper McIntosh.”

As I looked at Martha, I suddenly realized I would never be able to have a child of my own. The queen had stolen that opportunity from me like she had stolen most everything else in the world. I felt a hollowness inside, an incompleteness. I began to feel sorry for myself, but most of all I began to feel like I was cheating Jace. He would never be able to have a child of his own if he stayed with me and if anyone in this world was built to be a father it was him. He was a natural with both Rose and Simon, but he would never get the opportunity to love a child of his own.

Martha looked at Rose. “You sure can tell she loves you. Her face just lights up when she looks at you. You love your mommy, don't you baby Rose?”

Rose gurgled and squealed in response.

I looked down at Rose cradled in my arms. She was looking straight at me like she understood the question Martha had just asked. Was it possible that even at this young of an age she thought of me as her mother?  It didn't seem likely. She probably just associated me with the place her next meal would be coming from. Speaking of which....

“Do you have any milk I can feed her?” I asked Martha.

“I think I have better than that,” she said, walking to a separate compartment at the bow of the boat 

I saw an unmade bed past the door she went through. When she came back out, she had a white plastic Walmart bag in her hands.

“We brought some things with us for when Piper decides she wants to be born,” she explained to me with a smile.

The bag was filled with a cornucopia of baby supplies. There was a small package of diapers, wipes, baby formula, a bottle, and even a package of pacifiers. Martha showed me how to mix the dry mix baby formula, and Rose gulped it down like it was nectar from the gods. After I burped her, she promptly went to sleep in my arms. Martha brought out a white wicker bassinet from the bedroom for Rose to sleep in while we ate the steak meal she and Lux had prepared.

“How long have you guys been out here on the lake?” I asked, taking a bite of the steak which practically melted in my mouth it was so tender.

“About a month I think. We used to live by Lake Oneida near Syracuse,” Martha said, bringing to mind Zoe telling me she had been born in Syracuse. “When things started to get bad, we packed up this boat and followed the canals and rivers until we got here. We're hoping to make our way further north where it's less populated. Maybe we can find somewhere to hide out until the war is over.”

“You're not going to stay and fight?” I asked.

Martha laughed. “Do I look like a fighter?  I'm barely able to keep my family alive much less find a way to defeat the Harvesters. We've got armies for that. If they can't do it, I feel pretty confident I can't either. No, I'm taking my family somewhere safe until this whole thing blows over.”

“But what if it doesn't blow over?” I asked. “What if the Harvesters take control of the world?”

“Then we're all as good as dead,” Martha said bluntly.

I couldn't argue that she wasn't right. But, I knew what awaited her in the future. She would never find a safe haven. She and her family would be taken by the Harvesters sometime soon if Zoe's current age was any indication. She wasn't much older than she was now when Jace and I found her under Simon's protective shield.

“What about you?” Martha asked me. “What are your plans?”

“Find a way to get back home,” I told her, “and fight.”

“I would imagine with your gift you'll be very useful in this war,” Martha said. “If I was like you, I might think about fighting too. But I'm only one person. I don't see what I could do to help.”

“By yourself, nothing,” I told her. “But with an army beside you, everything.”

A series of gunshots could be heard coming from the exterior of the boat.

“What's going on?” I asked Martha and Lux, quickly picking Rose up from the bassinet.

“Looks like the Harvesters have found us,” Martha said standing from her seat beside me.

Lux stood and went to Martha giving her a quick hug.

“It was nice knowing you,” Lux told her. “I hope we can find each other again one day.”

“You take care of yourself, Lux.”

“Come on,” Lux said to me, “we've got to get a move on.”

Martha looked at me. “I wish you luck in your fight, Skye. Please try to keep yourself safe.”

“I will,” I told her.

I had to do one thing before I left. I walked over to Zoe and kissed her on the forehead.

“See you soon,” I whispered in her ear, taking precious seconds to look at my friend one last time before following Lux up onto deck.

It was nighttime now and I could see the lights of boats out in the distance quickly approaching our location.

“Catch you later, Joe,” Lux said, giving the burly man a hug.

“You take care, Lux.”

Joe looked at me and extended a hand in my direction.

“You take care of yourself, Skye. And thank you for what you did for my Zoe.”

I nodded and shook his hand.

I didn't have time to tell him saving Zoe's life was just as much for me as it was for him and Martha. She was one of the few people in my life I could call friend. And I hoped by some miracle I would be able to see her again one day.

I followed Lux back onto her boat. She immediately went to the helm and pushed a button to lift the anchor. The engines roared to life and we set off across the lake to the west. The other five boats dispersed into different directions like this particular evacuation plan had been in place for a while. It made sense to split up. Depending on how many boats the Harvesters had, they could only follow so many of us.