Emmy Laybourne - Savage Drift

“Just listen to the plan. Me, Astrid, Jake, and Niko are going to go—”

“This is stupid!”

“We’re all going to help Niko make it to Mizzou, which is on the way—”

“I hate this plan!”

“It’s on the way to Pennsylvania. Then we’ll all meet up at Niko’s uncle’s farm! And when those calls start coming in, from the letter, you can tell our parents to meet us there.” That was the part I thought he might like.

“You’re going to become a fugitive, just because Captain McKinley has some unfounded fear about scientists?”

“We’re not fugitives, we’re just leaving here. People are doing it every day.”

“Those people have papers and are allowed to go home.”

“We are going early,” I said. Alex rolled his eyes. “Look, they took another pregnant woman from her bed, at night. Her sister told us so. Then Captain McKinley gets all freaked out about them wanting Astrid? There’s something bad going on and we can’t let Astrid get sucked into it.”

Alex stopped, rooting his feet into the ground.

“I’ve heard you the past few days, telling Niko how dumb it would be to go after Josie. What about the drifts? What if they’re real? Now you’re going to go with him?”

“We have Captain McKinley helping us. He says he’ll get us as close as he can. It’s really not that dangerous. I’m going to go to keep Astrid safe and to get her to the farm. We’re taking no risks. None at all.”

A maple leaf, orange like a flame, landed in his hair.

“I hate to leave you, Alex. You know I do.”

He was looking down. I picked the leaf out.

“But I love her. I have to take care of her.”

“She doesn’t love you the same way!” Alex protested.

That hurt. I won’t pretend it didn’t. But I knew he was mad.

“Alex, look, Jake is a drunk and Niko’s only concerned with getting to Josie. Astrid has these cramps. She’s stubborn and she doesn’t rest enough. She needs someone to look after her and it’s me. I’m the guy. It’s my job.”

Alex’s face crumpled. “I don’t want you to go. I don’t want to be away from you, again.”

I hugged him to me and he cried into my shirt. “I’m sorry,” I said. “But you’ll see, we’ll meet up in Pennsylvania. This is no big deal. You’ll see. We’ll all be together at the farm.”

One day ago I had wanted to poke some holes into his dream to let reality in.

Now I was using his dream against him to convince him to let me go.

When we got back, Niko was there with the little kids. They seemed delighted we’d taken an interest in their playhouse.

Henry was seated at Astrid’s side on her stick pallet, his hands on her belly. And Chloe was on the other side.

Chloe put her cupped hands to Astrid’s belly. “Hello?” she said. “Can you hear me, baby? KICK IF YOU HEAR ME!”

“Come on, Chloe,” Astrid said. “Give me a break.”

“Yeah,” Max added. “You don’t want to give the baby a shock or he’ll come out nalbino.”

Max was using Jake’s pocketknife to whittle a stick into a spear.

“A nalbino?” Chloe asked.

“Yeah, a baby with no hair and pink eyes.”

“We didn’t have hair when we were born,” Caroline said. “Are we nalbinos?”

“Guys, it’s al -binos,” Astrid said.

“Albinism is caused by a genetic mutation,” Alex interjected. “It has nothing to do with scaring a pregnant woman.”

As mad as he was at me, he still wanted the kids to have the facts straight.

I felt my throat start to get tight. It was hitting me that we were really going to leave.

“He’s right,” Astrid said. “Thanks, Alex.”

She was trying to catch his eye, but he wouldn’t look at her.

“I guess I owe you an apology for the article,” he said stiffly.

“No, no,” Astrid interrupted. “I owe you the apology. You must be so pissed at me—”

“What the hey are you two talking about?” Chloe asked. “Is it about the letter?”

“Are we really going to be famous?” Caroline asked me. She slipped her tiny hand into mine. “I think I just want to be regular.”

Finally Sahalia came, holding a backpack of Astrid’s belongings that Niko had apparently asked her to pack. Sahalia slung the pack down along with the three Niko had packed with stuff for me, him, and Jake.

“What’s going on?” Sahalia asked.

“Are we having a sleep-out?” Caroline added. “Are we going camping?”

“I’m afraid not,” I said. “We’ve learned that some scientists want to take Astrid away for testing.”

All eyes turned to Astrid. Caroline hugged her and buried her head in Astrid’s neck.

“No!” “Never!” “You can’t go!” was the chorus from the little kids.

“Listen up!” Niko said. “This is important. We’ve decided that Jake, Dean, and I are going to leave and get Astrid to safety and go get Josie, too.”

I saw misery spread across Sahalia’s face. Her eyes flashed to Alex with concern.

The kids began to erupt into wails and protests again but Niko cut them off.

“We could have not told you guys, but we wanted you to know the truth because we’re all family. You understand? We’re treating you guys like big kids, so you have to act like it.”

“When are you going?” Ulysses asked.

“Tonight.”

Henry walked over, taking something small out of the pocket of his corduroys.

“Take this,” he said. Henry handed me five dollars.

“But your dad gave you that for your birthday!” Chloe exclaimed. “That’s birthday money!”

Caroline spoke for him, as she sometimes did. “Daddy Junior might need it, Chloe. Like, really.”

That made my heart hurt. Astrid was Mommy Junior. I guess I didn’t know I was Daddy Junior.

“Thank you, Henry,” I said. “We’ll need this on the road.”

“How are you getting there anyway?” Chloe asked. “Are you going to walk?”

Niko put up his hand. “We’re not going to talk about the details, because people might come to you guys and ask a lot of questions. If anyone talks to you tonight, you haven’t seen us. But tomorrow, if they ask, you can tell them the truth. We left because we were scared for Astrid’s safety.”

“But we will be together again,” I said. “I promise.”

“Tell Josie I say hi, okay?” Max asked. “When you get her?”

“Of course,” Niko said.

“Tell her I said quack, quack,” Chloe added. “She’ll get it.”

“Tell her I miss her,” said gap-toothed Ulysses.

Alex had a hard time looking at me. His eyes were red. Sahalia kept patting him on the hand. He wouldn’t meet her eyes, either.

Caroline pulled back, in my arms, and looked at me. Her freckled face was full of concern.

“You have to take very good care of Mommy Junior,” she told me. “Because moms need a lot of help.”

Alex came alone, to bring us a plastic bag filled with the bits of dinner that everyone had managed to smuggle out for us.

He handed me a wad of money.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“It’s what I was saving, plus a hundred and five from Mrs. Dominguez. She says God bless you.”

Alex looked away, over the greens to the dark blue sky.

There was at least three hundred dollars in there.

“Hey, you don’t have to give me all the money you’ve earned,” I said. He’d worked hard fixing small electronics for people.

“Take it,” he snapped.

“I just feel bad—”

“Dean, I’d give every cent I’ll ever make in my whole life to keep you safe. This will buy you guys food and water and gas. Who knows what you’re going to need!”