Chapter 94

Casualties were starting to add up. Reports continued to come in of Mothers who’d fallen victim to sniper fire, explosions, and the occasional combat death. Jaguar wasn’t in charge of the mission anymore, not since President Violet had sent Mother White in, just as she was about to lead her forces across the River Red, over a week ago, but she knew enough to understand that the situation was not working out the way the Mothers had hoped. Now that she was in charge of the detail meant to ensure that any surviving members of the rebel party could not proceed any further north, she felt as if she had a small amount of power restored, but it seemed to be too little too late to actually accomplish what they’d set out to do.
She’d known the importance of catching them before they crossed into Oklasaw, probably better than anyone. White was fooling herself now, if she thought they could actually find them. It was like searching for a specific needle in a box full of needles.
Nevertheless, she was asked to take a team north of the mountains where the tracker initially began to give up its location. While other teams crawled across the vast expanse of hillside, she was to follow the road away from the mountains, to set up surveillance, and have a team at the ready to stop any suspicious vehicles.
So far, there’d been next to nothing to observe and no vehicles to stop. They were perched in the high hills looking down on what appeared to be a fairly well traveled road, if any of the roads in Oklasaw could be considered to be used frequently. For hours upon hours, her team had not moved except to stretch occasionally. She was under the impression this was just another waste of her time and wished White would’ve given this task to someone of less caliber than herself.
The battle to the west raged on, despite the fact that it had become clear earlier that morning that the tracker had been dumped into the river. They’d had the suspicion as the tracker traveled closer to the body of water it would be discarded there. President Violet had given White the order to intercept whomever had been moving the device, but if that task had been accomplished, the call had not come over the com. She doubted it could be done, not without the use of their drones, which the Oklasawians constantly shot out of the sky, or their heliobirds, which were not being utilized to the fullest degrees of their capabilities because they, too, were vulnerable to being shot out of the sky. In her opinion, President Violet either needed to commit to this pursuit, or give up. Right now, she was using a lot of resources in a half-assed assault that wasn’t going to amount to anything.
“Mother Jaguar,” Mother Yellow, one of her subordinates, a younger woman who’d just finished her training a few months ago and had recently been promoted to an in-the-field Military Mother said, crouching low to move next to where Jaguar was sprawled on her stomach, using a magnifying device to watch the road. There were twelve of them on this side of the road and eleven on the other, a force of eight further up the road in case a roadblock needed to be put in place.
“What is it?” Jaguar asked, lowering the eye piece.
“I’ve just received a report from Mother Diamond that the Spanish-American forces amassed on our southern border are advancing.”
Mother Jaguar stared at her, wide-eyed, wondering why she hadn’t received word. Surely, if that was the case, President Violet would pull them all off of this ridiculous mission and move them back to Michaelanburg as quickly as possible, wouldn’t she? At the very least, White, who was in charge of all military operations, would have to be relocated. This seemed like a foolish waste of time and effort now more than ever.
“Was there any other information?” she asked her subordinate.
Yellow continued. “My understanding is that a group of rebels reached their capital, and after they gave all of the information they had available to Spanish-American leaders, they determined they must advance on us in order to free men who have been unjustly held against their will, treated inhumanely, and put to death without cause. They claim it is something called a ‘human rights violation.’”
Jaguar scoffed. What right did the people of any other country have to invade their territories and call into question their practices? It was none of their concern! While it was true that they had invaded Oklasaw, that was different. That state had given shelter to enemies of the Michaelanburg government and needed to be punished for doing so. Michaelanburg had never done anything to their neighbors to the south.
Assuming she’d get new orders any moment, Jaguar thanked Yellow for her report and resumed looking through the magnifying device at nothing. This might be a waste of her time, but if she were sent to the south, where the real action was, she’d be able to show President Violet and the others her true merit and make the Spanish-Americans sorry they’d ever crossed the border.

* * *

The movement of the truck coming to a stop brought Adam’s eyes flying open, and he realized he'd fallen asleep. Looking around, he wiped his mouth and tried to decipher where he was. Seeing Naomi behind the driver’s seat reminded him of what had happened, that the bike had wrecked, that his phone was broken, that he was far off track from where he was meant to be. Rain’s face came to mind, and he sighed, wishing he could find a faster way to get to her.
“We’re here,” Naomi said with a small grin on her face.
Adam raised an eyebrow. “What’s so funny?” he asked, not sure if he should laugh along with her or be offended.
“Nothing,” she said, throwing her hands up. “It’s just… did you know that you talk in your sleep?”
“What? No, I don’t.” Well, he hadn’t, anyway. The medicine the Mothers gave the Dicks to sleep wouldn’t have allowed for that. “I was talking?”
She chuckled, unhooking her safety belt. “Yeah, but it’s okay. You didn’t say anything too revealing or personal. Were you dreaming about a storm or something?”
“A storm?” he asked, unhooking his belt as well. He had no idea what he’d been dreaming about. He couldn’t remember any of it. “I don’t think so. Why?”
Pulling the lever to open her door, Naomi shrugged. “I don’t know. You just kept saying that you loved the rain, so I thought maybe you were dreaming about a thunderstorm.” She hopped out of the truck and headed toward the back, leaving Adam sitting in the passenger side, taking deep breaths, knowing she hadn’t quite heard what he’d said correctly, thankful that she hadn’t.
He got out of the truck and looked around. Even though he’d never seen a farm in real life before, except for maybe from a distance as he was pushing the motorbike to go as fast as he could, he knew instantly that’s where he was. They were parked near a two-story structure that looked every bit like the farmhouses he’d read about in books, with its wide porch, attached swing, and even a dog. The long-eared red and black dog lifted its head and then lowered it, not coming to investigate. Off in the distance, he saw cows and sheep in pastures, a large red barn behind the livestock. The ground rose a little beyond that. Two brown horses were running, their movements mimicking a dance, he supposed. He’d never seen that either.
“What’s the matter?” Naomi asked, coming around the side of the truck. “You have a farm allergy?”
“No,” he said quickly. “It’s just… this place looks like something out of a storybook.”
She snickered. “Trust me. If you lived here long enough, you wouldn’t think so. Help me get the bike out?”
Adam did as she asked, moving around to the back of the truck and helping her lower the bike out. Just looking at the busted up front end and how the wheel was set off to the side now made him grimace. He had no idea how it could be fixed, but he had to trust that Naomi knew what she was doing.
Once they had it down, she half-wheeled, half lifted it over the uneven ground to a shed a few hundred feet away from the house. “Do you want some help?” he asked.
“I’ve got it,” she assured him. “My dad taught me how to take care of all of our vehicles a long time ago, and while it’s been a long time since we had a motorbike, I’m pretty sure I’ll have it fixed well enough for you to ride it in an hour or two.”
Adam arched an eyebrow, not realizing it would be that quick. He walked along behind her, his backpack with everything he had in the world, including his weapon, which he thought would be better kept out of sight, thumped against him as he followed her.
“When was the last time you slept? Other than in my truck,” she asked him, trying to hide a giggle. They walked into a workspace with lots of tools and vehicle parts strewn about.
“I can't remember.” That was the truth. It seemed like he’d been on the road for days now. His brain was exhausted, and all he wanted to do was go back to sleep.
“My dad has a bunk over in the corner you can use. Or you can go into the house,” she said, gesturing past a large pile of junked out parts stacked haphazardly on and around a small wooden table. “My mom’s in there, so I’ll need to walk you in. At least, she should be. Dad’s probably out in the field. Mom startles easily, but she won’t mind if you lay down in my room for a few hours.”
“I don’t mind staying here,” he said, spying the bunk. The blankets and pillows looked like they’d seen better days. Even from here, he could see a layer of dust and grime on the red and black checked blanket, but he wasn't picky. “Are you sure you don’t need my help?”
“That I’m sure of,” she said with a grin as she dug through a toolbox.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Adam asked her, rubbing his jaw as he considered her. Naomi was different than any other woman he’d ever met, that was for certain. She was strong and spoke her mind. But in a nice way. He liked her. Not that it mattered. He’d be leaving soon, hopefully in just a few hours. Chances were, he’d never see her again. He supposed he could get her phone number, just in case he ever came back this way. Maybe he would be in a position to pay her for her work by then.
“Nothing,” she said with a chuckle. “You just don’t seem particularly mechanically inclined, that’s all. I still can’t figure out what you were up to out there, but then, I’m not the kind to ask too many questions either. Gets me in trouble.”
He snickered. She had no idea just how much trouble might be following him right now, though he was pretty certain he’d outrun the Mothers. For now. Having her phone number on him probably wasn’t a good idea, just in case they did catch up with him. Deciding he had better just leave her to her work, Adam went to the bunk and collapsed, wishing he could have just a hint of the Mother’s sleeping potion to put him right to sleep and praying he didn’t need it. At the moment, the only two things he wanted in the world were sleep and to see Rain.