Following another full day of recovery and fame around town, the Eden boys knew that it was time to leave the next day. Their new friends barely gave them any breathing room, which was nice in a way, but it became awkward when they couldn’t speak in specific terms about where they were headed or why. Late that night, the boys received their final briefing from their father, and they prepared to leave very early without any long goodbyes.
“There is still someone there. Be very careful. I haven’t determined yet who it is, but we have been mapping every spectator, looking for a familiar face. When you leave, if someone follows you, then he will reveal himself,” Moey reasoned. “I will track you for a while using Saginaw, but after some distance, there will be a different bird watching over you,”
Moey continued.
“There will be two nomadic tribes standing in the way of the shortest path to your destination. I will guide you around them safely, but it will add distance. Normally, you could run it in seven days, but with these detours, it will take nine. For the first two days, Vlad will provide an escort to get you safely through wolf country and into the plains. We will keep in touch.
Good luck, boys. I will see you in nine days.”
“Can’t wait to see you, Pa,” Jojo said, and the others chimed in with their agreement.
Before daybreak the next morning, the escorts rousted the boys. They had hot food, and the boys, still groggy, ate heartily in the dim lantern light. They then packed their provisions, walked out into the lane, headed down to the road, and turned left to proceed out of town. As they passed the main gate, Vlad was there with his wife and daughter. They all hugged and shook hands. Mia was teary, and gave Jojo a lingering hug.
“Best of luck, boys. We are waiting for your return. You are welcome here anytime. And give my very best to your father.”
“Yes, sir,” the boys responded. Then, the three brothers and their team of ten escorts, went off, jogging lightly.
The first night, they slept well as the escorts rotated watch and scattered wolves that were coming in close for a better look. The forest was thick in this elevated valley area east of Victory, and the boys awoke to the smoky aromas of a big army trail breakfast.
By the end of the second day of running, they were at a small tributary of the big river. It meandered along the base of the mountain range that separated the high, forested plateau from the expansive plains beyond. This was the boys’ last night with the escort, following which, they would be on their own.
The next day, they would ascend the mountains and drop down to the western edge of the plains. Then, they would camp near the ruins of Saul’s last settlement, which was a historic landmark where no other nomads dared to settle, given the gruesome history and resulting superstitions.
Still under the watchful eye of their protectors, the boys had not yet had a chance to contact their father. Once on their way the next day, they would do so and find out about their next steps.
Early the next morning, after another feast, the commander of the detachment gave them some instructions on where to go. It was very obvious, as there was only one main trail and it was well-worn. It would take them all the way up and over the pass and then down to the other side, where the road continued off into the distance for days.
They said their goodbyes, and the soldiers trotted off toward home while the boys started walking upstream along the trail.
Bronson had shadowed them carefully, staying close to make sure that he didn’t lose them. He was exhausted, having dealt with pesky wolves for two nights in a row. He was wondering what he was going to do, as it was one man against three. He had made a decision—kill the brown, catch the younger one, and then threaten to kill him, forcing the older one to submit. Once he had them tied, he would march them back to Eden and be a hero.
Bronson had maneuvered himself to within fifty yards of the camp. He was just above it, watching as the soldiers left and the boys lingered before waving goodbye. As the boys started off, they just walked and conversed. Bronson moved along, shadowing them from above, looking for his opportunity.
His fatigue made him impatient, and he was eager to execute his plan. His resolve was still strong.
He fell back behind a small ridge and picked up speed, deciding to get ahead of the boys before they took off running.
Then, it would be difficult for him to keep pace, unless he dropped down and chased them on the trail, in which case, he knew that they could outrun him. Luckily, they continued walking for quite some time, and he managed to get out ahead.
From his new vantage point, Bronson saw that they had stopped, and they were digging into their packs for something.
He noticed them pull out something unfamiliar-looking, which they were putting on their heads. He realized that this might be his only opportunity for total surprise, so he made his move.
The boys fitted their headsets, and Jojo started calling for Moey. Dream answered his call and was off to alert Moey, when the boys suddenly noticed movement behind them. They were distracted because of the headsets, through which they could hear each other breathing and talking, but could hear little of what was taking place in their surroundings. By the time Buddy spun around completely, there was already a hand on him, gripping him tightly and yanking him violently into a headlock. He could see the knife in the assailant’s other hand as it came up against his throat.
He yelled out. “Arrggghhhh!”
“Buddy!” yelled Jojo.
Shit! I grabbed the wrong one! Bronson cursed himself. He had meant to grab and kill the brown first. Shit! He didn’t dare harm the Chair’s grandson. He had thought about it and decided that doing so could be a real disaster.
“Let him go!” yelled Ajay.
“Now, you traitors listen to me! You listen!” Bronson yelled. “I will kill him! You boys are all coming with me. Dead or alive, I don’t care!”
“Wait! Wait!” pleaded Jojo. “Don’t do it!”
“You! Brown! Lie down on the ground facedown! Do it!” commanded Bronson. Ajay complied immediately. “Now, you!
Back up! Back up! Over there near that tree. Go!” Jojo followed the instructions carefully. “Now! Facedown!” Jojo went to his knees slowly, never losing eye contact. Then, he slowly lowered himself onto his chest. Bronson yanked Buddy almost off his feet and moved him over to where Ajay lay on the ground.
“Let us go!” shouted Jojo. “Don’t touch them!”
“You shut up!” howled Bronson. As he kneeled next to Ajay, he was still gripping Buddy’s throat tightly with his other arm. His grip was so tight that Buddy could not utter a sound, nor could he even breathe.
“This is where it ends for you, Brown!” Bronson wailed as he removed the knife from Buddy’s throat and raised it in the air to plunge it into Ajay’s back.
“Noooo!” cried Jojo, jumping to his feet after deciding to charge. But before he was even up, he heard the whistle of displaced air and a thud. Bronson’s knife was still raised high, but his eyes were now wide open, and he seemed stuck in time, motionless. Then, suddenly, he stood and dropped his knife. He whirled his body around, his hand searching behind him, reaching and then finding the handle of the knife that was now buried deep inside him. He continued to spin slowly, and then he stumbled and nearly fell. He gasped, coughed, and then cried out.
“Uuughhh!” Then he fell, revealing Della, who was standing twenty yards behind him with a group of others just behind her.
“Della!” called out Buddy. Ajay jumped up, stunned and eyes wide as he realized that he had narrowly escaped the death that had befallen his parents—a death of hatred based on nothing other than skin color. Ajay stood over Bronson, who was clearly in trouble at this point.
“You bastard! You are the type that killed my mother and father! And now you will die!” Ajay spewed his anger on the dying man, who could do nothing but lie still, believing that it was his only way to see another minute of sunlight.
Behind Della were Zak, Davan, Elona, and Mia. Jojo doubled over, tearful. As he regained his composure, he saw their headsets lying on the ground. He ran over and gathered them up before anyone noticed. He looked up and saw Buddy already embracing Della, and Ajay was now moving toward them as they approached. He also hugged Della tightly, thanking her for saving his life. Jojo ran over, and the brothers all hugged, with their new friends joining in.
Mia then found Jojo and hugged him tightly. “What are you doing here?” Jojo asked.
“We all decided that we weren’t ready to see you go,” began Elona. “But we had no power to stop your departure, so we followed you.”
“Obviously, you needed our help,” quipped Zak.
“You guys are unbelievable!” responded Ajay enthusiastically. “I was a dead man. Della, you saved me. Thank you.”
“We look out for each other. Now, you’re one of us,”
Della responded, always calm and precise. This was what she loved about Buddy: he was the opposite. There wasn’t a careful or worried bone in his body. He was all heart.
Della walked over to where Bronson had now expired. He was lying on his side, eyes and mouth open. She put her foot on his shoulder and pushed him facedown. She left her foot there as she grabbed the handle and extracted the knife. The other onlookers felt a little queasy as they watched silently.
As they gathered to talk about what to do next, Jojo took the lead. “You guys are really the best. But we are going nine days at speed to the east. We have to meet our father there. There are secrets that we are not supposed to talk about, and I really think that if you come with us, it will worry everyone in Victory. Then, they will know where you went. They will send out the army, and it will be a bad situation.”
“Nine days?” asked Davan.
“Just to get there. Then, you have to come back,” explained Ajay.
“I don’t care. I’m coming,” the decisive Della declared instantly.
“Me too,” said Zak. Then all the others said, “Me too” nearly in unison. Jojo’s attempt at discouragement had been a failure. He really did want them to come, but it was a safety issue. They didn’t know where they were going, and their father couldn’t watch them all the time. He also needed to get in touch with his father as soon as possible.
Jojo looked up and saw the bird. It was up so high that it was hard to know what it was from the ground. He knew that his father was now aware that they were alright. Jojo raised his arm to the sky, and looking right at the bird, he gave a thumbsup and a big smile.
Moey smiled, watching the scene close up as if he were right there. Just minutes ago, he’d felt as if he was having a heart attack as he watched the most horrifying, worst-case nightmare he could imagine unfolding before his eyes, and he’d been powerless to do anything about it. But now, he was overjoyed.
The expanded group—now eight of them—ascended the mountains and reached the pass by early afternoon. Jojo needed to talk to his father, but he knew that the next stage was to camp at the base of the mountains on the east side. This much, he remembered. So, he put it out of his mind and spent the day being happy about having their new friends with them and feeling a special bond. They related culturally and athletically. And then there was the attraction.
He still had not gotten very far with Mia, and he still thought about Nan back home. She must be wondering and worrying, he thought, and this saddened him.
At the end of the day, they were at the base and found a reasonable camping spot. In the summer weather, it was easy to just camp under the stars. But while they were setting up camp, Jojo glanced at his brothers in a way that let them know precisely what to do. He was going to disappear for a few minutes to use the headset.
“Where is he?” asked Mia, suddenly worried.
“Taking a shit, probably,” answered Zak. “Right, guys?”
He shot a glance toward Buddy and Ajay.
“Probably,” responded Buddy.
“Or jerking off,” added Ajay.
They all laughed, and when Jojo returned minutes later, they all laughed again.
“What’s going on?” asked Jojo. Some of them, including his own brothers, burst out laughing again at his expense.
Mia ran over to rescue him. “Jojo, where are we going tomorrow?”
Jojo laid out the plan for the next day. “We need to keep on this main road, passing through Saul’s camp at about midday. Then, there is a creek way beyond that. We should be able to reach it before dark. We will camp there.”
“How do you know all this?” asked Davan. Zak looked on with a frown, feeling similarly baffled.
“My father told me before. He gave me all the instructions,” Jojo responded.
“He knows a lot of stuff. What are we supposed to find after nine days way out in the middle of nowhere?” asked Zak.
“He said he will meet us there. We can use your help.
Once we get there, we have to dig down. There is a cave, but it’s blocked. We should have brought some tools for digging.
But it would have slowed us down,” explained Jojo.
“This is really spooky,” said Elona. “I hope you guys know what you’re doing.”
“It’s okay,” said Ajay. “My pa has it all figured out. We will be fine.”
“The spooky part will be when all of your parents flip out,” said Ajay. “They will send the whole army after us. You can bet on that.”
“I think you’re right,” replied Davan.
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