Susan Pfeffer - Shade of the Moon

“The nurses used to pop in on me all the time,” Miranda said. “Orderlies, too. The past couple of days I’ve hardly seen anyone. Oh, they’re taking good care of me, and I know how lucky I am to be here. But something’s wrong. Things are too quiet.”

“A lot of people who live in White Birch are missing,” he replied. “Some of them died, but a lot of them probably packed their bags and left. Lisa’s going crazy trying to replace the domestics. That’s why she hasn’t seen you. She got home after ten o’clock last night, and she says it’s going to be like that all week.”

“But Mom’s all right,” Miranda said. “And Alex.”

“I spent the weekend with Mom,” Jon said. “She sends her love. She wishes she could be here, but there’s no way she can get a pass. And Alex is back at work, so he’s okay, too. We all are, Miranda. We’re just waiting for you to have the baby.”

“Is it okay with you?” she asked. “Me working for Lisa?”

It wasn’t, but there was nothing Jon could say. “Lisa thinks it’s a great idea,” he said. “Val’s missing, so things are kind of hard. We could use a helping hand.”

“I like Lisa,” Miranda said. “Gabe’s a handful, but he’s my brother and I love him. I’m hoping to be out of here in a week. The baby’s kicking up a storm. It’s ready to be born, I’m sure of it.”

Jon looked at his watch. “I told Carrie I’d be home soon,” he said. “She has all the housework and Gabe, and that’s too much for her. I’d better go.”

“Will you come back?” Miranda asked. “Will I see you again?”

“I don’t know,” Jon said. “With school and soccer and helping out with Gabe, I don’t have much time.”

Miranda smiled, but there was no warmth in it. “You’re a good claver, Jon,” she said. “You do all the right things.”

“This isn’t my fault,” Jon said. “I didn’t ask for any of this.”

“I didn’t, either,” Miranda said. “Okay, Jon. Go. You did your duty. The next time I see Mom, I’ll tell her what a good boy you are.”

“Go to hell,” Jon said. He walked out of the room, paying no heed to Miranda calling his name.

When the phone rang, Jon figured it was Lisa calling from work. Carrie was putting Gabe to sleep, but Lisa probably wanted to wish him good night over the phone.

But it was Alex.

“Miranda’s all right,” Jon said. “I saw her yesterday.”

“That’s not what I’m calling about,” Alex said. “Do you know where Laura is?”

“Mom?” Jon said. “Why? What’s the matter?”

“I don’t know,” Alex said. “Maybe nothing. But I got home from work and she wasn’t there. That’s not like her. I thought maybe you’d gotten her into Sexton.”

“You know we can’t,” Jon said. “Maybe Mom’s visiting people.” He remembered the dead bodies in front of the apartment and started to feel sick. “Look, Alex, if Mom comes home, could you let me know?”

“Not today,” Alex said. “Curfew’s in five minutes. I’m already taking a chance calling. I’ll talk to you tomorrow night. Or if Laura gets back, I’ll have her call you tomorrow.”

Jon could hear sirens in the background. “Gotta go,” Alex said. “Curfew.”

Alex was a worrier, Jon told himself. Even Mom thought he was paranoid.

But Mom also thought she might never see Jon again. Someone had gone into her apartment and stolen her food. Someone had slaughtered her downstairs neighbors.

He picked up the phone and called Sarah.

“Is something the matter?” she asked as soon as she heard his voice.

“Yes,” Jon said. “No. I don’t know. Look, is your father going to White Birch tomorrow? Is the clinic open?”

“Yes,” Sarah said. “I’m going, too. It’s a good excuse not to go to Zachary’s funeral.”

“The funeral,” Jon said. He’d almost forgotten. Zachary’s was scheduled for Thursday and Tyler’s for Friday.

People wouldn’t care if Sarah wasn’t at the funerals. They didn’t like her or trust her, and they’d figure she’d skip out on something that important.

But Jon was different. He was their classmate, their teammate, their friend. It would seem strange if he wasn’t there. It would be one more mark against him, one more indication that he was just a slip, not really a claver.

But Alex was scared and Mom was missing. “I need to go to White Birch,” Jon said. “How do you get there? Are the claver buses running?”

“No,” Sarah said. “Clavers aren’t allowed in. Daddy goes by private car. And when we’re there, we’re not allowed out of the clinic except to go home.”

“Mom’s missing,” Jon said. “Alex called. Maybe it’s nothing, but I’ve got to find out. I’m going with you. What time do you leave?”

“Seven o’clock,” Sarah said. “But Jon, even if you get there, you can’t walk around. It’s too dangerous.”

“I have to,” Jon said. “I’ll be at your house at six thirty. Tell your father.”

“Jon,” Sarah said, but he hung up.

It’ll be okay, he told himself. He’d get to Mom’s apartment somehow and find her there. She’d hug him, the way she used to when he was little.

It’ll be all right. This one time, it had to be all right.

“Drop him off here,” Dr. Goldman said to the driver.

“You sure?” the driver asked. “My orders are to take you to the clinic.”

“Your orders are to do what I tell you,” Dr. Goldman said. “I brought this boy along to run errands. Now do as I say and let him out here.”

“Watch out for the guards,” the driver said as he pulled to the curb in front of Mom’s apartment. “They’ll shoot first, ask later.”

Sarah grasped Jon’s arm. He looked at her and smiled. “I’ll be fine,” he said. “See you soon.” He opened the car door and let himself out.

The bodies were still there, but Jon felt an absurd sense of relief when he saw there were no new ones. He opened the door and ran up the stairs, calling for Mom. But there was no answer.

Jon checked the apartment, continuously calling Mom’s name. He even checked where she hid her food. There were still cans there.

If someone had broken in and demanded to know where the food was, Mom would have told him. She wouldn’t die for the sake of a few cans.

So where was she?

Before, when things were normal, when things were the way they were supposed to be, Mom would have left a note. But now she lived in a world with no paper, no pencils or pens. They’d brought nothing like that when they’d come from Pennsylvania. They hadn’t even brought copies of the books Mom had written.

No paper. No pens. Only a pay phone a half dozen blocks away.

Feeling like a fool, Jon searched the apartment one more time. There was no sign of Mom, of anybody. Alex had even made the bed that morning. Somehow that didn’t surprise Jon. It was the kind of thing he would do. His wife was hospitalized, his mother-in-law missing, and Alex made the bed.

Unless Mom wasn’t missing.

Jon thought about it. She hadn’t been home when Alex got home, and then he went to the pay phone to call Jon. But maybe Mom was home when Alex got back. He couldn’t leave the apartment to call. It was past curfew.

The curfew ran until 5 a.m., when the dayworker grubs, like Alex and Miranda, began their walks to the bus terminal. Alex took a 6 a.m. bus. He wouldn’t have had time to call Jon before leaving for work.

Jon remembered Carrie saying guards had herded them Monday morning. The grubs needed passes to get on the buses, and Mom didn’t have a pass, because she didn’t work in Sexton. She wouldn’t have risked going to the pay phone while the grubs were walking to the terminal.