Ive got you, said Kira, and theyve got me. Keep coming. Slowly Gianna pulled herself free of the broken wood and bricks, and Kira hauled her up inch by inch. When Gianna was high enough, the strong hand on Kiras pulled them both to the top of the pile, and Kira turned to see Jayden straining with the effort.
Thanks, said Kira.
He nodded. Help me find the other one.
Kira turned back to the hole. Mr. Turner! Can you hear me?
He was next to me when the bomb went off, Gianna panted. He cant be very far.
Kira scrambled back down the hole, still calling his name. Mr. Turner! Andrew! She paused, listening closely, and bent down as far as she could. Nothing. She leaned back, examining the wreckage, trying to guess where he might have ended up.
Behind that stone, said Gianna, pointing past her to a large, flat rock standing upright in the rubble. There was a fireplace in the basement, like a big chimney, all done in stone instead of brick. Probably the oldest part of the house.
Well never be able to move it, said Marcus. Kira slithered down next to it, leaning in close.
Andrew Turner! shouted Marcus, but Kira shushed him.
Quiet, Im going to try something.
The dust settled, and the air was still. Kira opened her medkit and pulled out the stethoscopeone of the digital models with sound amplification. She thumbed the switch, silently praying that the battery hadnt degraded, and pressed the scope to the rubble.
Pom, pom, pom, pom . . .
Its his heartbeat, Kira called out. Hes right under the fallen chimney.
Those stones are propping up half the house, said Marcus. Were not moving them.
As long as his hearts beating, we are, said Jayden. Out of the way, Walker. He slid down next to Kira and called for help from the others. Yoon, get me rope, and tie the other end to one of the horses. A moment later the soldier dropped a stiff nylon cord in between them, and Jayden huffed, reaching out to loop the rope around the rock. Kira pressed the scope to the stone again.
Pom, pom, pom.
I can still hear the heartbeat. She turned, looking for beams of wood. Marcus is right, thoughif we move this now, the whole first floor will come down on him. Here, brace it with this. She pulled on a long joist, still attached to shards of wooden flooring, and Jayden shoved it into place, propping up the rubble.
All set. Jayden called out orders to the wagon driver. Take her forward, Yoon! More . . . more . . . okay, the lines taut, now just an inch at a time.
The rope stretched tight; Kira couldnt see the stone move, but she could hear it scraping loudly against the stone floor below. Its working! she shouted.
Jayden called more orders to Yoon. Keep goingnice and slow, thats perfect. Now ready on the line. The stone dislodged from its hole, and Jayden grunted as he helped shove it to the side.
Kira turned to the open hole, eyeing the makeshift support beam nervously, when a shape in the darkness stopped her cold. She hadnt seen it beforeit had been behind the stone.
It was a human leg, severed just above the knee.
No, she murmured. She reached forward cautiously, probing the jagged edge where the bone had broken. Crushed, she thought, feeling the damage. The chimney fell and snapped his leg right off. How can he still be alive? She pressed her scope against the next stone.
Pom, pom, pom.
Bloody hell, said Jayden, crouching behind her, is that his leg?
It means were close.
It means hes dead, said Jayden. That chimney would have pulverized him.
I told you I can hear his heartbeat, Kira hissed. Give me the rope.
The rubble shifted, and Kira closed her mouth and eyes tightly against a hail of rocks and dust. The rafter above her groaned, and she heard shouts of alarm from the soldiers above.
Get her out of there! called Marcus.
Hes right, said Jayden. This is coming down around us any second. One dead man isnt worth losing a medic.
Im telling you, hes alive.
Get out, Jayden snapped. If we cant dig him out of here, we definitely cant dig you out.
This is a human life, said Kira. We dont have any of those to spare right now.
Get out!
Kira gritted her teeth and inched forward; Jayden swore behind her, reaching for her feet, but she kicked him away.
Pom, pom, pom.
She felt the next stone in front of her, testing for handholds, probing its stability. I think I can move this one, she thought. Hes got to be right on the other side of it, and then theyll see. I know hes alive.
Hey, Mr. Turner, she shouted, can you hear me? Im coming to get youwere not leaving you behind. She braced herself on the basement floor, praying she didnt dislodge anything vital, and pushed on the largest stone, feeling it rotate slightly against a stiff, off-center axis. She pushed again, straining at the weight, then shoved the stone to the side. There was another shape in the darkness, too twisted for her to recognize the outline. She thumbed the scope again, reaching forward desperately.
Dit, dit, dit, dit . . .
Wait, thought Kira, thats not right, and then her fingers brushed against slick, wet flesh. She caught a piece of fabric between two fingers and pulled it closer, hearing the dit grow louder in the tiny cavern. She felt the bloody limb with both hands, refusing to believe it; she inched back toward the light and held it up, confirming it with her eyes.
Its his arm, she said softly. Hes gone.
Jayden stared. And the heartbeat?
She held up the arm, the wrist glinting metallically. Dit, dit, dit. His wristwatch. She felt drained and lifeless. Hes gone.
Jayden pulled the arm away from her, steadying her with his hand. Lets get out of here.
We have to take him back, said Kira.
This was not an accident, said Jayden. Someone came through here and set this bombsomeone who knew we were coming. Theyre probably still nearby.
Kira frowned. Why would someone blow up a weather station?
It was a radio, said Gianna. We didnt see it all before it blew, but I know that much for certain. This was the biggest communications hub Ive ever seen.
Voice, said Kira.
Jaydens voice was low and grim. And after that noise, they definitely know were here.
Jayden gathered the survivors in the shadow of the smoking wagon. Theres no way were getting home in this thing, which puts us at least two days out from civilization. Our radios been destroyed as well. Were on our own.
Well have to rig a stretcher for Private Lanier, said Marcus. He has a compound fracture in his shin. Ive set it as best I can, but hes not walking anywhere.
Kira scanned the trees and ruins around them, tensing at every movement. Shed been in the hospital once when the Voice attacked; shed seen the wounded soldiers they brought in, moaning and screaming in pain as the triage medics wheeled them into surgery. It still shocked her to think that any human would harm another one.
Build a stretcher, said Jayden. We have two horses left: Patterson and Yoon will ride ahead and send backup as soon as they can reach the Defense Grid perimeter. The rest of us follow on foot.
Its nearly thirty miles, said Yoon, and the horses are already tired. They cant do it in one shot.
They can go for at least another hour, said Jayden. Youll run out of light by then anyway. Go as far as you can, then let the horses rest till first light.
We dont have to go all the way back to East Meadow, said Gianna. Theres a farm community west of here, and several more to the east. Theyre a whole lot closer than thirty miles, and Lanier can get help sooner.
Our map was in the side of the wagon that blew up, said Jayden. Im not in the mood to just wander around the island looking for rednecks.
Theyre not rednecks, said Gianna. Most of them have more education than you do
Their amazing educations arent much good to us without a map to find them, said Kira. Why was Gianna arguing at a time like this? East Meadows our best betwe can follow major roads the whole way.
Laniers not going to make it back, said Gianna, not with that fracture. The farms have hospitals just like we do.
Not just like we do, said Kira, and no, Laniers not going to die on the road. Do you have some kind of medical background you forgot to mention?
Anyone can see
Anyone can see that hes bad, said Marcus, speaking calmly, but weve splinted it, weve wrapped it, and I can drug him so hard hell think hes flying home on a magical gumdrop rainbow. You could get high on his farts.
Patterson and Yoon, go south to East Meadow, said Jayden firmly. The rest of us follow with the same goal, buthe looked at Giannaif we run across a farm or an outpost or anything like that, we can try to commandeer another wagon.
You dont have the authority to commandeer a wagon, Gianna snapped.
And you dont have the authority to disobey my orders, said Jayden. This is a military operation, in a state of emergency, and I will take you home the way I think is best if I have to drug you as much as Lanier to do it. Am I clear?
Is this what we have to look forward to? asked Gianna. Is this our brave new world when you plague babies grow up and start running things?
Jayden didnt waver. I asked you if I was clear.
Perfectly, said Gianna. Lets get back to paradise.
Jayden stood up and the group dispersed, gathering their equipment and preparing for the journey. Kira took Jaydens arm and pulled him back.
We cant just leave them, she said. The dead horses, sure, but theres three dead people in that house. How are we going to get them home?
We can come back for them.
I counted six feral house cats walking past us just during your little planning meeting, and that clinic you had us in was home to a pretty big pack of dogs. If we leave three bodies here, there wont be anything left to come back to.
Jaydens eyes were cold. What do you want me to do, Walker? We cant carry them, and we dont have time to bury them. Well come back in force to investigate the site and recover the generators, but right now ten live people are more important than three dead ones.
Ten minutes, said Kira. We can spare that.
You think you can bury them in ten minutes?
Theyre half-buried already.
Kira watched him consider, then shrug and nod. Youve got a point. Ill help.
In addition to Andrew Turner, the explosion had killed two soldiers, and their bodies were laid out carefully by the house. A man and a womana boy and girl, really, probably no more than sixteen years old each. The girl might have been even younger, but Kira couldnt tell. She stood over them solemnly, wondering who they had been: what they had done for fun, who they had lived with, how they had come to be here. She didnt even know their names. Jayden took the girl by the arms, Kira grabbed her legs, and they picked their way carefully through the ruins. The deepest hole was the one theyd dug trying to save Turner, and they lowered the girls body down into it as gently as they could, pushing her back into the recess behind the chimney stones. By now some of the other soldiers had finished their tasks and came to help, carefully carrying the boy and sliding his body into the hole as well. Kira watched numbly as Jayden and Private Brown destabilized the last remaining wall and knocked it over onto the hole, covering the bodies.
Kira felt her heart break as the wall came down. This wasnt enoughit was good to bury them, but they deserved more. She tried to speak, but the lazy clouds of dust from the rubble were too much to look at, and she couldnt speak.
Marcus watched her, his eyes aching and tender. He looked at Jayden. We should say something.
Jayden shrugged. Good-bye?
Okay, said Marcus, stepping forward. I guess I can do it. Anyone know what god they worshipped?
Not a very good one, muttered Gianna.
Maija was a Christian, said Sparks. Im not sure what kind. Rob was Buddhist. I have no idea about the civvie.
Marcus looked around for more clarification, but nobody knew any more. Not the easiest mix to work with, said Marcus. How about this, then. I think I can remember some of the old poetry they taught us in school. He straightened up, fixing his eyes in the distance, and the soldiers dropped their heads. Kira kept her eyes on the pile of fallen bricks, dust still hovering over it.
Death be not proud, said Marcus, though some have called thee mighty and dreadful. He paused, thinking. Im totally butchering this. Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, but thou canst . . . not kill me. One short sleep and then we wake eternally, and death shall be no more.
Jayden glanced at Marcus. You think theyre going to wake up? Just like that?
Its just an old poem, said Marcus.
Wherever theyre waking up, said Jayden, its getting pretty damn crowded. He turned and stalked back to the wagon.
Kira held Marcuss hand and watched as the dust settled slowly on the fallen bricks.
The rain pooled in the mud, filling the fat rubber tire tracks with jumping drops of water. Kira pulled her hood forward, trying again to shield her eyes, but as the storm grew fiercer it almost felt as if the rain was pouring in from all sides, leaping up from the puddles and seeping down through every seam in her clothing.
Jayden stopped again, halting the line with a raised fist. The tire tracks hadnt come from Asharoken and the rigged bomb, but any presence could be dangerous out here in the wild. This part of the island had been wealthier than most, back in the day, so instead of close-packed houses and overgrown lawns, they walked through dense, dripping forest, dotted here and there with a lonely mansion looming out of the darkness. Kira cocked her head to the side, listening, hoping to catch a trace of whatever tiny noise Jayden kept sensing through the downpour; she could see Marcus doing the same. She heard the rain, the splashes, the squelch of mud as someone shifted their weight in the street. Jayden dropped his fist and pointed forward, and the group started walking again.