Chapter 57: On The Run Once More
It was still nightfall when Elliot climbed out of the manhole once more. They had looked around carefully as they did so. They weren’t sure how much Clement had divulged about their escape routes, so on this occasion Dorothy had used a different route that Clement was not aware of. Dorothy wasn’t surprised to see three helicopters in operation in the night sky, scanning the ground for signs of movement. Luckily, the three helicopters at the moment were concentrating on a different part of the city.
Dorothy led Elliot in close proximity to buildings and never out in the open or in the middle of the road.
Occasionally a car might pass by, but fortunately for them, they weren’t police or army vehicles. It was a short trek to the hills. Once they reached the countryside, Dorothy ran next to ditches for cover. Elliot was scared that one of the helicopters or a police or army patrol might locate them. He didn’t want to go back to captivity again. He had only just recovered from the bruising he had suffered and to him the prospect seemed like a fate worse than death.
Eventually they reached the forest. Elliot could hear the sound of dogs barking, though he could not tell exactly where they were coming from. As he looked all around him he could see the flickering of lamp light in the distance. Dorothy led him to a location in the woods. They stopped next to a large shrub. To Elliot’s surprise his fellow fugitive, crawled underneath. He crawled after her. The shrub it appeared, concealed the entrance to a man-made cave in the woods. Even though it was dark, it was much larger than the one that Atticus had lead them to.
“Is that you, Dorothy?” a familiar voice called out.
“Yes. Atticus, it’s me. I’ve brought a friend of yours, though I don’t know if we can trust him anymore. His friend has betrayed us.”
While it was hard to see, there was a small candle lit in the far end of the small cave that enabled Elliot to make out the shape of Atticus’s body.
“I told you that was Clement and not Jeff,” Elliot insisted. “Besides, I don’t know if Jeff would call me his friend. I don’t know if he has any friends.”
Dorothy took out her knife and pressed it against Elliot’s neck. “You betray me, wimpy boy, and you’re the first one I’ll go for,” She said with aggression. “Do you understand, boy?”
While Elliot was slightly intimidated, he hoped that she would listen to reason. “I’m not your enemy but I do understand why you doubt me. You don’t know me well enough.”
“It doesn’t take long for me to see right through you. Just make one false step and..,” she said gesturing with her hand across her neck.
“You’re a man after all. All men cheat on their women at some point. They lie.”
“Not all men,” Elliot replied as he swallowed hard.
“What about you? Have you ever cheated on a woman or lied to her?”
“There’s only ever been one woman. Her name was Suki and she cheated on me. She had a number of men. She was a proper nymphomaniac. I just couldn’t compete. It simply wasn’t a level playing field.”
“Like all men, you’re a liar. I bet there were others you’re not telling us about city boy. At the slightest hint of danger you would run and leave everyone else behind.”
Elliot wondered what she was getting at. The only similarity related to Sylvia. Maybe his relationship or non-existent relationship with Sylvia had become the stuff of legend. He thought about what might have happened to his former High School friend. If he could do it again he would have gone back for her even if it risked almost certain death. Even if Sylvia was not his girlfriend she was his best friend and his greatest ally. Sometimes he woke up in the middle of the night thinking I should have gone back.
“You’re right. I am a man and a cowardly one at that. At the slightest hint of danger I would run away. I’m not like you, but I do have attributes that some women who are not as tough and ruthless as you, would warm to.”
“We have a real casonova here,” Dorothy mocked him.
“I never said that. Oh well, what is the point?” Elliot asked as he shrugged his shoulders in exasperation. “You’re determined to see things your way no matter what anyone else says.”
The three fugitives remained there for several hours, waiting for some if not all of their comrades to come. It was now daylight and Elliot was afraid that he would be left alone with a psychopath and a young kid. He was also afraid that he wouldn’t see so many of the decent people he had come to know over the past few weeks, and Jeff, even Jeff.
It must have been after ten in the morning when there was a sign of movement close by. Jesse emerged from the entrance, accompanied by a wily teenager named Jasper and a third individual, who looked all too familiar.
Dorothy lunged for Jeff, knocking him onto his back. She applied pressure on top of him and put a knife to his throat. “You lying, devious little man. You snitch. Give me one good reason I shouldn’t cut your throat right now.”
Instantly Elliot willed Jeff to come up with an eloquent defence that he did not do it and that he would never betray the group due to his unswerving loyalty.
“Get off me, you cow,” he replied.
Jesse then put a hand around Dorothy to restrain her. “He didn’t do it,” he said calmly, “it was Clement.”
Dorothy relaxed her stance and turned her neck to face Jesse. “What happened?” she asked.
“They came at us from all angles. It was an ambush. We left the older ones behind. We didn’t have much of a head start. There was no time for the older ones to leave with us. The police weren’t just coming from behind us. They entered the system at a number of different points. They were shooting without warning at unarmed men and women. There were people next to us falling to the ground, riddled with bullets. There was nothing we could do. It was a case of every man and woman for themselves. I don’t know for sure if there were any other survivors. It just wasn’t safe to be hanging around with the police and the army scouring the place for victims. I’ll have nightmares about it for as long as I live.”
Elliot was hungry. His stomach was making noises but he was afraid to speak up, given the circumstances. Perhaps it was safer to wait a while longer.
“What do we do now?” he asked aloud.
“I don’t plan on hanging around here too long,” Dorothy replied. “You’re a liability. I can handle myself and as far as I can see I’m better off that way. This whole group thing isn’t working. It’s too much of a risk. Stanislas and the others were foolish to trust too many people. It only takes one crooked card to tear the house of cards right down. You’re only as strong as your weakest link.”
“Do you think Stanislas was foolish to trust you?” Elliot asked.
“He was taking a risk. He took a risk with me, with you and with Clement or Jeff or whoever else betrayed us. With the world as it is, we can’t afford to take risks. I’m not staying here much longer. Tonight I’m leaving.”
“What do you plan to do Jesse,” Elliot asked the one remaining potential breadwinner.
“I don’t agree with everything Stanislas does or says, but I want to honour him and he would want me to help the group, to protect the weak, even if I die, doing it.”
“You’re crazy,” Dorothy replied with a hint of frustration. “Look after number one because nobody else will.”
“I’m not hanging around here much longer with you lot either,” Jeff declared. “This group love thing sucks. I’ve had it up to here with babysitting you lot.”
“I had a friend,” Elliot informed them, “who said that a group of people united was far more powerful than a group of people divided. He was similar to Stanislas in that regard. Together people can achieve great things.”
“Your friend was a clown,” Dorothy responded. “And he is forgetting something. Trust. For all we know there is one person amongst us who cannot be trusted. You want us to unite, weak boy because you want someone to hunt for your food and read you bedtime stories. As far as I’m concerned, it’s survival of the fittest.”
Two hours later, both Jesse and Dorothy disappeared in search of provisions. Jasper also revealed his intention to leave the group also. Elliot believed the young teenager was trying to talk himself up and earn some attention. From what little he knew of Jasper, he was mostly talk and little or no action. “Maybe we should turn Elliot in,” Jasper suggested to the few who remained. “He’s the only one here who can’t change form and he can’t fend for himself. I bet we’d get a great reward, a fortune to live off for a few years.”
“I’ve thought of that loads of times myself,” Jeff admitted, “but there would be no way to trust the authorities to let you go free and give you loads of money to boot.”
The young earthling was disappointed that his comrade had given the matter so much thought. Every time he began to admire Jeff, the changeling did or said something to undo all that had gone before.
“I’m sure you’ll think of a cunning plan Jeff,” Elliot replied. “I’ll have to sleep with one eye open from now on.”
“It wouldn’t matter if you had two eyes open if I was going to betray you,” Jeff replied. “Even Atticus could handle himself better than you.”
“Shush,” Atticus whispered, indicating that he thought he heard something outside.
The four remaining individuals remained silent and listened intently for the slightest sound.
After a short period of time it became apparent that there was a dog nearby who had picked up a scent. Elliot could hear the dog sniffing at the plants that covered the entrance. He could also hear the voices of some of the men outside.
“Have you found something?” Elliot thought he heard a man say from further away.
“I don’t know,” came the response.
The dog kept sniffing and using his paws, as if to unearth something. After a short period of time there was clear light coming from the entrance. Elliot could now see the dog and the head of the man looking in. He was sure that he made eye contact. “Are you sure that you haven’t found something?” one of the other men was heard to say. The man holding the leash, pulled it back and replied, “no, it’s just a rabbit hole. We’re wasting our time here, I reckon they’re long gone. This fecker is probably only interested in chasing rabbits anyway.”
Elliot didn’t know whether to be worried or relieved. He didn’t know whether the man with the dog would return or not. Part of him wanted to believe that there were individuals out there who defied their superior’s orders when they didn’t respect the instructions given to them.
“He saw you, didn’t he?” Jasper whispered.
Elliot didn’t respond, partly because he didn’t want to attract unwanted attention from the outside and partly because he didn’t feel like responding. As much as Elliot found Jeff to be difficult at times, he was more inclined to dislike Jasper. Elliot always believed that beneath Jeff’s tough exterior there was a decent human being. He did not however trust Jasper much farther than he could throw him.
The group waited nervously for the hunters to return with food. An hour passed by before they returned. Elliot didn’t know whether to look forward to his meal or not. Raw rabbit wasn’t exactly his favourite. Even in a fine restaurant he was not partial to seasoned and well-cooked rabbit. He ate it to survive, even if he detested it.
“Are you really leaving?” the young man asked of Dorothy.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, mocking him once more. “Are you afraid of looking after yourself, city boy?”
“Of course I am. I couldn’t hunt insects if I tried.”
“Dorothy can do what she wants,” Jesse declared. “If she no longer wants to be part of our group then that’s her decision. Some of us respect Stanislas ideas. Others don’t.”
“I’m better off alone,” the young woman declared aloud. “That’s just the way it is.”
The next morning Elliot was awoken by something crawling up his trouser leg. He didn’t know what it was. He started wriggling his leg but the creature kept progressing further up his leg. Just as it reached the top of the leg, Jesse stabbed it through the trousers, with a knife. The creature struggled for what seemed like an eternity before eventually dying.
Elliot unbuttoned his trousers. “A rat,” he declared upon seeing the lifeless rodent.
“Some extra breakfast for you my friend,” Jesse said aloud.
“I think I might pass on breakfast,” Elliot replied as he tried desperately to put the thought of his experience out of his head.
When he eventually recovered, Elliot looked around. He could see that Dorothy was no longer there. He decided not to say anything and to conceal his disappointment. Jeff too had disappeared but Elliot wondered if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“What do we do now?” Elliot asked aloud.
“We can’t stay here forever,” Jesse replied. “They will find us for sure. There is a large forest about twenty miles from here. It is full of grizzly bears and other wild animals. They will not expect to find us there.”
Jesse’s suggestion didn’t sound like the safest option in the world to the earthling.
“Wow,” Elliot interrupted, “that doesn’t sound like much of a plan.
“You’re such wuss, city boy,” Jasper replied trying to conceal his own fears.
“If you have a better one, please suggest it.” Jesse replied
“I guess I don’t,” the young earthling conceded. “I don’t know this area well enough.”
Jesse paused before responding as if he was open to anyone else making a contribution. “Ok then we will wait until nightfall before making our move,” he said in a low voice
Elliot also would prefer not to move during nightfall. In a wild forest that was the most dangerous and scary time.
Elliot, Jesse, Atticus and Jaspar had been camped in Goldstone National Forest Park for two days. Jesse had forbidden the use of campfires in case they drew unwanted attention to them by drones or satellite images. It meant that all four fugitives were quite cold at night time. As the days got shorter, the nights would get colder still.
They were based on the side of a hill not far from a cave entrance. If the weather turned stormy, they could retreat inside the mouth of the cave for cover.
On the morning of the second day, Jaspar divulged that he had snuck out to the local village for a few drinks.
“I don’t know whether it’s a trap, but I got talking to a truck driver,” he said. “This guy told me that there were a pregnant white woman and an African girl, who he had helped. They were looking for Elliot. He said he left them with an elderly woman who was a friend of his in a cottage about eight miles from here. Does that make any sense?” he said turning to Elliot.
“Yes it does. The woman’s name is Elisa and the girl is Edita. I have to go there and find them,” the young human said turning to Jesse.
“That wouldn’t be very clever,” Jesse replied. “You are too conspicuous and you can’t change form. Jaspar will go.”
Jaspar looked as if it was a task he did not want to take up.
“I’d rather not,” he responded. “It could still be a trap.”
“Either, you go or I go,” Jesse responded.
Jaspar’s main rationale for not going was because he felt safer having Jesse around but now that wasn’t an option.
“Ok, I’ll go,” he responded reluctantly.
Later that night, Jaspar made his way in the direction of the cottage where he believed Elisa and Edita to be. He really didn’t want to be there and a million times over he asked himself the same question: why am I doing this? Initially he didn’t want anything to do with Elliot. Elliot was a liability to the group. Having him around was only likely to draw unwanted attention from Reapers, police officers or the army. Now he found himself taking a risk to help Elliot. He must be going soft, he thought to himself.
As he got closer he transformed into the likeness of the truck driver he had met from the night before. The cottage looked quite small in the moonlight. It probably had no more than two bedrooms. To its side was a dog chained in its kennel. The dog looked to be an Alsatian but in the darkness Jaspar could not be sure. He hated dogs because he had been bitten by one when he was a child.
Jaspar couldn’t help but think he wanted to be anywhere but here. He dreamed of lying on the beach in a luxurious Caribbean island. He imagined himself sipping Martini’s in the golden sun. In truth he had never had a Martini but it sure sounded like a good time.
As he approached, the dog started barking, then an old woman peered out of the window. Jaspar knocked on the door but the old woman seemed slow to answer. He was nervous and was praying that the Alsatian wouldn’t attack him. The chain he hoped, wasn’t long enough to reach him. He wasn’t even sure if he had the right house. I really don’t want to be here, he thought to himself.
Suddenly the door opened in a split second and the truck driver from the night before, who was carrying a rifle hit him with the butt of his gun.
Momentarily, Jaspar lost consciousness. When he was revived he could see the truck driver standing over him with the barrel of a gun pointed in Jaspar’s face.
“Who the hell are you?” the truck driver asked in an aggressive manner
Jaspar was quite afraid and couldn’t think of what to say for a moment.
“Speak up before I blow your brains out,” the man said aloud.
Jaspar changed to his normal form.
“I know the guy that your two guests are looking for,” he said. After saying this, it occurred to the young man that he was no longer playing his cards close to his chest. If these people were not to be trusted, Jaspar would not have any way of knowing.
Elisa and Edita who had been standing well behind the armed truck driver came closer. “How can we trust you,” Elisa suggested. “How do we know whether Elliot is even alive or dead?”
“You can’t know whether you can trust me or not just like I don’t know whether I can trust you either.”
Even the truck driver was unsure of what to do next.
“I trust him,” Edita replied. “Any friend of Elliot’s is a friend of mine.
“You’re too naïve,” the armed man replied, before relaxing his stance and removing the rifle from Jaspar’s face.
“What do you say Elisa?” the truck driver asked after a brief pause.
“I don’t think we have a choice. We have to trust him.”
Elisa was clearly pregnant and the captive believed that she was a woman who was conflicted. If she wasn’t honest, she was doing a good job of hiding it. It appeared that she wanted to believe him but wasn’t sure. To Jaspar they didn’t seem like people who were about to transform into ten foot tall Reapers or werewolves. All four of the cottage habitants appeared genuine, at least, on the outside. The male changeling hoped that he wasn’t going to end up eating his own words.
Jaspar didn’t enjoy lying on the cold hard ground or coming within an inch of having his life ended so he was grateful for the reprieve.
“I think I had too much whiskey last night,” the man with the rifle replied. “I was afraid I’d shot my mouth off a little too much and was afraid the Reapers would be coming for them.”
These words gave Jaspar greater reassurance that the strong and powerful man in front of him was on his side.
“It’s too late to go travelling through the forests on a night like this. Let’s all go inside and get a good night’s rest,” the bearded truck driver replied.
Jaspar climbed to his feet. He looked forward to a proper night’s rest even if it meant lying on the couch.