Eugenia part 36 in BULK

Read part 35 here!

I took over driving the next day, partially because I needed practice and partially because I wanted to subject Decklan to the backseat for a change. Luke wasn’t subtle about his revamped flirting, but now I didn’t mind as much. Flirting back was almost effortless, and although I was a little ashamed of my behavior, Decklan had it coming. Someone as jealous and impulsive as him needed to be taken down a notch.

We tried making contact with Wes Buchanon in between Jonesboro and Memphis, but instead caught up with both Thurman Smallwood and Laurie Thompson, who were already traveling together. After broadcasting our success to Outties, Sam informed us of some fantastic information.

“Apparently, Daniel Shauf has made a contact of his own, a Leah Sorvy, in Bullhead City, Arizona. Leah has not been spotted since her escape, but apparently she has been listening in and managed to track down Daniel.”

“That’s fantastic news! Brings us up to…eight total. Wow.”

“Wow indeed, Meg. You’re doing a fantastic job.”

“Thanks, Sam. We’ll check in tomorrow.”

“We look forward to it.”

Luke and I had our first kiss that night, under the stars. Our hotel room had a back porch that we sat on, just talking about our respective experiences from being on the run. As I was retelling my Julie discovery, Luke leaned forward and caught our lips together mid-sentence.

After a moment, he pulled back a bit. “Sorry.” he muttered, grinning. “I just couldn’t stand it anymore.”

I grinned back at him. “It wasn’t a very exciting story, I don’t blame you.”

He chuckled and took my face in his hands, leaning in again. We slept outside that night.

Decklan had barely spoken in days, although there wasn’t much for him to say. I was in the passenger seat as he drove the day afterwards, as Luke slept in the backseat. We hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep the night before.

“Meg.” Decklan finally tried. “Look, I’m sorry. I made a mistake. But I think you’re…”

“Overreacting?” I said darkly.

Decklan sighed. “Yes.”

“Well, I don’t agree. It wasn’t just that potentially fatal mistake you made. This has been building up for a while.”

“Are you kidding me? What did I even do?”

“You’re constantly jealous and bickering with Luke, who was clearly harmless…”

“Doesn’t seem so harmless nowadays.” he muttered bitterly. I growled in frustration and turned the radio volume up, ending the conversation.

Jamie Adama met us for lunch at a fast food chain just outside of Huntsville. He was the first contact we’d made that seemed skeptical.

“Where exactly will I be staying? Your bookstore can’t be that big.”

“That’s just the initial meeting place. From there, you’ll get paired with one of our sympathizers. We’ve got nine people willing to house outliers.”

“Yeah, right now, me and my two roommates have four of them.” Decklan added. “Although I suppose right now there are only two.” He looked down at his cheeseburger with a pained look on his face.

Jamie wasn’t convinced. “So what are we supposed to be doing? Waiting for you guys to return? How long is that gonna be?”

“Well, our little trip is starting to get expensive, what with hotels and food and gas. We’re planning on turning around in Atlanta. There’s one more person we know for sure wants in.”

“Can’t you just call him? Or talk to him over Outties?”

“Tell me, Jamie, would you have trusted us if you only met us over the phone?”

“Barely trust you in person, but I see your point. And I suppose you don’t want to broadcast these phone numbers all over the airwaves.” He held up the paper of contact numbers I’d given him. I nodded. After a few minutes of eating in silence, he finally caved. “Fine. I’ll get on a bus. See you in California.”

With that, he swiped up the rest of his food and disappeared almost instantly. Luke casually wrapped an arm around my waist. “Well, we’ve only got one person left. I can’t believe how much we’ve gotten done in the past few weeks.”

Decklan nodded, pointedly not looking at the arm. “Yeah. I expected it to take a lot longer. Do you guys mind if we made a quick stop by my family’s house? It’s only about an hour and a half off course. And it will look more legitimate if I actually visit my family. We don’t have to stay long, just a meal or something.”

“I wouldn’t say no to a home cooked meal, but how exactly are you going to explain us?” Luke looked doubtful.

“My parents don’t ask many questions, and as long as you wear long sleeves, they have no reason to think you’re anything suspicious.”

I shrugged noncommittally, and Luke eventually gave in. We made it to Atlanta in a little over five hours, quite late, and decided to spend the night at Decklan’s family’s house. It was too late to try and meet our final for sure contact. I called into Outties to set up a meeting place the next day and then took over driving with Decklan giving directions from the back seat.

The house wasn’t imposing, but it wasn’t average either. It was at least a mile away from any other neighbors, which was an unexpected relief, and looked like it could easily house everyone we’d sent back to New Diego, plus the people housing them currently.

“It’s a little big. My mom always expected to have tons of kids, but the doctors told her even having me and my sister was pushing it. You’ll see what I mean.” Decklan climbed out of the car. Even in the quickly dimming light, I could see his face soften. He was home.

<>CHAPTER BREAK<>

I saw what Decklan meant almost immediately. Mrs. Handler answered the door excitedly, and I was surprised she even managed to pop out two kids.

Standing in front of me was the tiniest woman I’d ever seen. She had short golden curls, thin shoulders, and looked to be about four foot ten. She had large blue eyes, a friendly face, and I liked her immediately.

“Decklan!” She cried, grabbing her son into a bear hug. I watched him stumble a little bit; she must have been stronger than she looked. “And who is this?” It didn’t sound condescending or accusatory; Mrs. Handler looked absolutely delighted to see us.

“These are my… friends. Luke and Meg. Is it ok if we stay here for the night?”

“Of course! You look so thin, have you eaten today? It’s a long drive from California. What have you been eating? I hope you managed to stop at restaurants instead of those awful fast food chains you’re so fond of. Come in, come in…” The most astonishing part about her speech was that she finished it without taking a breath.

Even before we stepped over the terrace, I could smell grilled chicken. My mouth watered, and I tried to think about the last time I’d had a chicken that wasn’t fast food or cold and half eaten in a restaurant’s dumpster. Jon, Andy, and Decklan weren’t much of cooks, so we never had it in the apartment either.

“Is that… chicken?” I asked in a small voice, barely letting myself believe it. I could see Luke out of the corner of my eye with the exact same expression as I imagined I was wearing at the moment.

“Fresh out of the oven! Oh, this is so exciting. Your father and sister went to Atlanta for the night for the football game, so it was just going to be me tonight! But now there are people to share it with!”

“Ok, mom, calm down.” Decklan chuckled, hand on her shoulder as she led us to the kitchen.

Dinner was easily the best meal I’d had in years. Not only had Mrs. Handler prepared grilled chicken, but also steamed broccoli with asiago cheese shavings and a strawberry rhubarb pie for desert.

I laid on Decklan’s sister’s bed after a shower that night listening to he and his mom talk. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but I liked listening to the tenors of their voice. His mother sounded so happy to have him home, even for just one night, and that made me a little sad. I wondered why Decklan didn’t come home more often. I’m sure his parents could have swung a plane ticket home every once in a while.

But then I thought about something else, something that made me even more depressed. Maybe Decklan did come home often, and his mother just loved him so much that it was a special occasion every single visit. I thought about Emma, and what I’d do with her after all of this was over; if it was ever over. Would I take her home myself? Would my parents want to see me? Would they be happy to see me? Or would they resent my survival, snatch Emma back, and shut the door in my face?

I didn’t sleep well that night, even after Luke sneaked in and snored with his arms around me with his face in the back of my neck. One point for Decklan was that he didn’t snore.

The next morning, we had another warm and delicious meal with Decklan’s mother; french toast with thick slices of bacon. She was sorry to see us go, but we were all anxious to get back on the road. Because the car had been losing water and granola weight for the past couple weeks, we offered Alex McDonnell, our final contact, a ride back to New Diego, which he graciously accepted.

Alex was a pleasant addition to our group, since Luke, Decklan, and I were not exactly getting along. He chattered about his years on the run readily, and we all listened in comfortable silence.

It took us a lot less time to get back to California this time, as we weren’t making pit stops all over the place. We three original travelers hadn’t diffused the tension much since Alex had joined us, and even though nothing more was said, it kept getting worse.

I hated the silence almost more than the yelling and arguing of the first half of the trip. When it was my turn to drive, I would occasionally push the speed limit on long, empty stretches of road to get back even that much sooner. I missed Emma and Julie; boys were starting to get on my nerves.

<>CHAPTER BREAK<>

We got home around ten thirty at night. Jon, Andy, Emma, and Julie were waiting for us upstairs.

“Meg!” Cried the little girls immediately, burying me in excited hugs.

“Glad you guys made it ok.” Andy smiled. “Howdy. I’m Andy.” he extended his hand to the very dumfounded Alex. I don’t think he’d seen that much familiarity up close in a long time.

“Alex.” He replied, taking the hand. Jon took it next with a smile.

“So how was the trip?” The former radio DJ asked, settling back on the couch. “Alex, we can get you over to the bookstore tomorrow. We only have two more people that haven’t made it yet, but they’ve been in contact and should be here by the weekend.”

“Actually, Jon, I think I’m going to get some air. Emma, Julie, do you guys want to go to Malia’s?” I looked hopefully at the only other females in the room.

Julie shook her head with a scowl. “Jon grounded me because I drew a butt on Bluff’s front door and almost got caught. It was one of my best works yet.” Jon frowned at her in exasperation.

I laughed. “I wouldn’t want to cross Jon, then. Emma? Are you grounded too?” she shook her head and extended her arms.

“Meg, I don’t think-” Decklan started.

“It’s not always your decision what I do, Decklan.” I said cooly. “We’re just going for a quick walk. I know where all the cameras are, and it’s dark besides. We’ll be back soon.”

Jon looked from my defiant face to Decklan’s clearly upset one, obviously puzzling over our behavior.

Before anyone could ask a question, I swung Emma up onto my hip and left the apartment, heart pounding.

“Are you mad at Decklan?” Emma asked me as we emerged from the building. Guess I hadn’t escaped all of the questions.

“We’re just having an argument.” I told her. No use in crumbling her hopes just yet. She absolutely adored Decklan, unlike Julie, who I was sure would be pleased by my switch of affections.

“Oh.” This answer apparently satisfied her for the moment. “Can I walk if I promise to hold your hand?”

I squeezed her and set her on the ground. “Sure thing, kid. What have you been up to while I’ve been gone?”

It was comforting to listen to my little sister tell me about the new songs she’d learned on the piano and all of the new people she’d gotten to meet. Her favorite Outlier by far was Daniel Shauf, the one we’d picked up in Tulsa. He was apparently a musician as well.

We were almost to the bookstore when I heard a rustle behind us. Then, a megaphoned voice rang out.

“Meg Carroway. We have you surrounded. Surrender now and no one gets hurt.”

Bright floodlights flashed around us, proving the anonymous man correct. I scooped Emma up into my arms and pressed my mouth against her ear.

“Emma, I need you to listen very carefully.” I said in a low voice.

“Put the girl down, now.” said the invisible megaphone man. Emma trembled against me.

“When they ask you questions, I need you to tell them that I kidnapped you against your will and we’ve been living on the streets. I need you to say that you hate me and tried to escape.”

I could feel her shaking her head as the floodlights closed in. “Emma, listen to me. You have to do this. It’s the only way to protect yourself and Jon and Andy and Daniel and Decklan and Julie and everyone else. Can you do that for me?” She hesitated, then nodded. “Ok. Now I need you to start yelling help. I’ll put you down, and I want you to run for the closest police officer and ask for mom. Got it?”

I barely got the last word out before the little girl in my arms let out a wild wail. I set her down and she took off running, half sobbing for her mom. If the musician thing didn’t work out, she had a bright future in theater.

I watched her run from me, feeling a small sense of accomplishment, when someone came from behind me and pressed my face into an odd smelling wash cloth. I didn’t remember much after that.

Continued in part 37!

(There. That should satisfy you for a while.)