trees provide. It’s not safe for anyone to be out wandering around
on the ground after dark. Never forget that.” As he spoke, his body tensed with
anger and he clenched his jaw. She wasn’t sure what she’d said wrong.
Suddenly her appetite fled. She’d simply crossed a bridge,
but she’d entered a completely different world than the one she’d left. What
exactly happened when the Veil fell, and how had their worlds diverged so
drastically?
“I think I’m done.”
He scowled down at the food remaining on her plate. “Are you
sure? You didn’t eat much.”
She nodded.
“Okay.” He pulled out a cover for her plate and placed it in
what looked like a refrigerator. “I’ll put it in here, but if you get hungry
later, come help yourself to it.”
“Thanks.” She stood and couldn’t hide the grimace of pain.
In just that short amount of time, she’d stiffened up.
He hadn’t missed it. “Hang on. I almost forgot. Malcolm said
you needed to drink this to help with your pain and to prevent infection.” He
pulled a packet out of his jeans pocket and moved over to the sink, which she
hadn’t noticed before, where he filled a glass with water.
She inspected the kitchen with wonder. “How in the world do
you all manage all this? Running water, refrigeration, electricity…all up in
the trees?”
She drank her medicine and marveled at how refreshing it
tasted.
“My brother, Malcolm, is brilliant. Doctor and inventor…we
truly wouldn’t be able to function as a society without him. A lot of what you
see is his invention.” As he talked he led her up the stairs and around the
tree trunk.
An awning covered the stairs to protect them from the
elements. The shimmer of lights glowed from the other tree-houses through the
leaves as they walked. “How many people live in this village?”
“There are a total of forty-seven people in thirty-one homes
in Springlake .”
“Are there any children?” She asked, somehow knowing the answer
already.
“No.”
His answer was short and terse and hit her like a blow to
the gut. When she’d been little, she’d wanted to be a school teacher and
mother. Her flight to the WS had been made out of desperation, but with it
she’d harbored hopes of finding kids again. To find hope that maybe she
wouldn’t spend the rest of her life alone.
“Let me guess. Not in eighteen years, right?”
“Yes. Is it the same in the ES?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” Their two worlds still had a few
things in common. She had really hoped sterility wouldn’t be one of them.
He showed her his house in a more reserved and withdrawn
manner. Neither of them raised the question of where she’d stay again. She
didn’t see any sexual interest in his gaze and continued to feel safe in his
presence. It was stupid for her to trust that, but she was too tired to fight
it anymore today.
Marcus’s house featured two bedrooms on two different levels
with a bathroom built onto the middle level. They’d accomplished so much here,
but as she sank her sore and weary body into the bed, she thought about what
she’d learned. Obviously, sterility represented a concern here, too. What
chance did they have as a society if they weren’t able to conceive a new
generation?
* * *
Hours later, Marcus sat in the quiet of his living room and
considered his unexpected guest. He still had so many questions for her.
When the Veil fell eighteen years ago, they didn’t have any
warning that they would lose complete touch with the ES.
Within forty-eight hours, all the adults and a lot of the
kids were simply dead. They had no idea how or why. Even more mysterious, the
bodies disappeared within a couple hours of dying.
Just kids at the time, they hadn’t known what to do. They
were all terrified and hadn’t understood what happened. Hell, eighteen years
later, they still didn’t understand it.
But with Lori’s appearance, all kinds of questions were
raised. Did the same thing happen in the ES?
on the ground after dark. Never forget that.” As he spoke, his body tensed with
anger and he clenched his jaw. She wasn’t sure what she’d said wrong.
Suddenly her appetite fled. She’d simply crossed a bridge,
but she’d entered a completely different world than the one she’d left. What
exactly happened when the Veil fell, and how had their worlds diverged so
drastically?
“I think I’m done.”
He scowled down at the food remaining on her plate. “Are you
sure? You didn’t eat much.”
She nodded.
“Okay.” He pulled out a cover for her plate and placed it in
what looked like a refrigerator. “I’ll put it in here, but if you get hungry
later, come help yourself to it.”
“Thanks.” She stood and couldn’t hide the grimace of pain.
In just that short amount of time, she’d stiffened up.
He hadn’t missed it. “Hang on. I almost forgot. Malcolm said
you needed to drink this to help with your pain and to prevent infection.” He
pulled a packet out of his jeans pocket and moved over to the sink, which she
hadn’t noticed before, where he filled a glass with water.
She inspected the kitchen with wonder. “How in the world do
you all manage all this? Running water, refrigeration, electricity…all up in
the trees?”
She drank her medicine and marveled at how refreshing it
tasted.
“My brother, Malcolm, is brilliant. Doctor and inventor…we
truly wouldn’t be able to function as a society without him. A lot of what you
see is his invention.” As he talked he led her up the stairs and around the
tree trunk.
An awning covered the stairs to protect them from the
elements. The shimmer of lights glowed from the other tree-houses through the
leaves as they walked. “How many people live in this village?”
“There are a total of forty-seven people in thirty-one homes
in Springlake .”
“Are there any children?” She asked, somehow knowing the answer
already.
“No.”
His answer was short and terse and hit her like a blow to
the gut. When she’d been little, she’d wanted to be a school teacher and
mother. Her flight to the WS had been made out of desperation, but with it
she’d harbored hopes of finding kids again. To find hope that maybe she
wouldn’t spend the rest of her life alone.
“Let me guess. Not in eighteen years, right?”
“Yes. Is it the same in the ES?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” Their two worlds still had a few
things in common. She had really hoped sterility wouldn’t be one of them.
He showed her his house in a more reserved and withdrawn
manner. Neither of them raised the question of where she’d stay again. She
didn’t see any sexual interest in his gaze and continued to feel safe in his
presence. It was stupid for her to trust that, but she was too tired to fight
it anymore today.
Marcus’s house featured two bedrooms on two different levels
with a bathroom built onto the middle level. They’d accomplished so much here,
but as she sank her sore and weary body into the bed, she thought about what
she’d learned. Obviously, sterility represented a concern here, too. What
chance did they have as a society if they weren’t able to conceive a new
generation?
* * *
Hours later, Marcus sat in the quiet of his living room and
considered his unexpected guest. He still had so many questions for her.
When the Veil fell eighteen years ago, they didn’t have any
warning that they would lose complete touch with the ES.
Within forty-eight hours, all the adults and a lot of the
kids were simply dead. They had no idea how or why. Even more mysterious, the
bodies disappeared within a couple hours of dying.
Just kids at the time, they hadn’t known what to do. They
were all terrified and hadn’t understood what happened. Hell, eighteen years
later, they still didn’t understand it.
But with Lori’s appearance, all kinds of questions were
raised. Did the same thing happen in the ES?
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