chapter Two
Mitch’s bedroom was located on the lower-level of the farmhouse, at the end of a short hallway off the rec room. After Ellie had died, he’d taken his son’s old room.
Liberty and Becky discussed it between themselves once and figured the separation must be too painful, too powerful in the master bedroom. So if he chose to stay in another room, it was like he didn’t have to face it.
The location was convenient. At least she and Nathaniel were able to visit without Mitch, sick as he was, attempting to make it down the cellar stairs. He couldn’t now, anyway.
Liberty crossed the threshold of the room and stopped short of the bed. Her breath caught. Only a month ago, Mitch had looked strong and healthy. Now he lay there sunken and pale, last year’s flower wilted on the vine.
His once bright, white aura was now milky, dull, and streaked with gray. His eyes moved under closed lids and she guessed he dreamed of better days.
She took a deep breath and the sweet scent of honeysuckle beneath the thick chlorine disinfectant calmed her. Smoothing the pleats on her dress, Liberty paused for a moment before crossing the room and pulling up a bedside chair. The old wood creaked as she sat and Mitch opened his eyes.
“Liberty? That you?”
She slid her hand across the blanket and rested it on his leg. “Yeah, it’s me. How do you feel today?”
He squeezed his eyes shut and scrunched up his face as though he experienced a sharp pain. Liberty made a face, too, felt her stomach twist to see him in obvious discomfort.
He finally let out a ragged breath. “Fair enough.”
She looked toward the door jamb where Becky was leaning. Liberty raised her eyebrows. This was a good day?
Becky shrugged as if to say, He looked good a minute ago.
Liberty leaned in closer so he wouldn’t have to strain to see her. “Becky said you haven’t slept well the last couple of nights.”
“I get enough.”
She reached for his hand, noticed the bracelet he never removed. One half of the match set he and his wife wore in place of wedding bands. Even though he appeared to have lost quite a bit of weight, the wavy silver band fit as snug as ever.
“I’ve been thinking about your Ellie since I woke up. I wanted to tell you I’m really sorry she’s not here with you.”
“Thank you.” His hand tightened around hers. “She loved you like a daughter, you know.”
Liberty scolded herself as her eyes stung, fighting back the tears. “Well, that’s good,” she said with a warm smile, “because I came to think of her like a second mother.
Is there anything I can get you? To help make you more comfortable?” He’d refused the narcotics the hospice nurse offered. Said it left him loopy. At most he’d have ibuprofen, though the nurse said it was like putting a Band-Aid on a severed leg at this point. Even in these late stages, he still worried he’d miss something.
He shook his head, swallowed his pain. “My comp—” He started to cough and gestured toward the nightstand on the opposite side of the bed.
Liberty stood to get his laptop, but Becky beat her to it.
“Here you go, Mitch.” Becky set the computer on a pillow next to him.
When the fit subsided, Mitch opened his eyes again, letting Becky prop another pillow behind him so he could work the laptop. He looked at Liberty, pressing a few buttons. “There’s something I wanted to show you and Nathaniel, but since he’s not here, I’ll show it to you.”
Liberty watched him, lost. Nathaniel might have learned the basics with the computer, but she’d never had to.
Becky excused herself, “I’ll be in the kennel if you need me.”
Liberty gave her a quick wave as she left. She released a breath, leaning around to see what Mitch had on the screen. “Okay, what am I looking at?”
“I’ve been working on a little slideshow. It’d have gotten done sooner, but I’ve not had a lot of good days as of late.” He shrugged. “Guess today’s as good as any.”
She patted his leg. “Hey, no problem, seeing how I didn’t know you were doing it anyway. Actually, I don’t think I know what a slideshow even is.”
“This.” He tapped a couple more buttons and a picture appeared of Ellie and Liberty in the canning cellar, a very young Sage playing on the floor at their feet. He turned the laptop a little so Liberty could see better.
“Holy cow, Mitch. I’d forgotten these.” Liberty had some pictures of Sage, thanks to Ellie, but she’d never thought to ask Mitch to look through theirs. There were so many.
How could she have forgotten? The tears flowed freely, her eyes glued to the screen, afraid to blink. She watched and pointed, laughed at a few. Before it was over, Mitch started to talk again.
“Ellie and I, we owe you and Nathaniel so much.”
Liberty looked up from the slideshow, so he pressed a button to pause it.
“Us? We are the ones who are grateful to you for letting us stay here. And allowing us to be part of your lives.” She meant it.
They’d kept to themselves for the most part. She and Nathaniel were self-sufficient in a lot of ways. But, other than Gabriel, Katie, Adrian, and Becky, for almost fourteen years, the Montgomery’s had been all they had.
“I know you appreciate it, but it was never even. We benefited far more than you.”
Liberty raised her eyebrows, “How so? You mean after the accident?”
They’d first met during a snowstorm. She and Nathaniel had been hunkered down in a small cave not too far from Proem, when Mitch and Ellie’s truck lost control on the dirt road.
“You sheltered and gave us life. Gave Kevin life.”
Sheltered, yes. It was a moment she’d never forget. Unconscious and slumped together, their white auras shined out through the windshield like two fallen stars. Or angels. She’d convinced Nathaniel to bring them inside their cave.
But Kevin hadn’t been with them that night. She wondered if the disease had leaked into Mitch’s brain, had burned his memories away like acid.
“Honey, I think you’re confused. Kevin stayed on campus that year. Remember? Only you and Ellie were in the truck.”
He shook his head. He tried to keep a cough inside and sounded like a cat getting ready to hack up a fur ball.
“No, no.” She snagged a tissue off his bedside table and gave it to him. “Here. You let it out. It’s not good to keep stuff inside.”
He did, and after a sip of water he started to talk again. “It’s complicated. Much rather you and Nathaniel are together when it comes time for me to tell it.”
She reminded herself the nurse said he might not make a lot of sense in the last days, so she tried not to let the confusion show on her face.
“That’s fine with me. You rest up and Nathaniel and I will come visit together. Real soon, okay?” Liberty smiled and gave him a gentle hug.
Mitch nodded. “You watch the rest before you go.” He pressed another button.
She feigned giddiness, clapping her hands together. “Yes, I want to see them all. I can’t wait for Nathaniel to see it, too.”
Images passed by. Ellie teaching Liberty to play pool. The two of them sitting together as they shucked corn. Sage wearing a fake mustache. Then one made Liberty pause.
“Hold up, Mitch. Can you go back to the last one?”
The pictures had begun to repeat, anyway. Mitch brought back the final picture of the slideshow.
“Yeah, that’s it. Pause it?”
He did. “What is it?”
Sage looked back from the screen. By the looks of it, the shot hadn’t been taken long before she’d disappeared. And Liberty hadn’t been there.
She pointed at the screen. “When was this?”
Sage leaned one hip against the pool table, arms crossed, a bag or purse of some kind rested on the floor next to her feet. Even the clothes and jewelry weren’t familiar.
A fleeting look of confusion crossed Mitch’s face and then recognition. “Oh, I think that was last fall. Just before…” He waved his hand. “You know.”
She knew. Before they lost her. “Did Ellie take it?”
“I guess so. You know how those two liked to play dress up.”
Huh. Why hadn’t Sage mentioned it? “What’s she wearing?” Liberty motioned toward the screen. “I don’t recognize any of it.”
When Sage had played dress-up as a child, it was usually in heels too big for her, bright red lipstick, and long chiffon gowns from Ellie’s younger days. In this picture she wore a white top and hooded sweater, and what appeared like dark blue jeans tucked into fur-lined boots. The photo was taken from a distance, and the lighting was poor, so Liberty couldn’t begin to count how many, but Sage had on several necklaces, bracelets, and a couple of rings. Her hair was tucked behind one ear, exposing an earring.
She squinted and pointed at the silver hoop dangling from a lobe. “Sage’s ears weren’t pierced, Mitch.”
“No?” He raised his brows, pondered it. “Probably some of those clip earrings Ellie had.”
Liberty nodded. Had to be. But why wasn’t Sage smiling? Liberty traced around the image on the screen. “She looks sort of sad, doesn’t she?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” he said. “Ellie probably had her posed for one of those Fancy Shots, like they take at the shopping mall. She always wanted to do that herself.”
Sage did look sort of glamorous, leaning back like she was waiting for a cab, feet crossed at the ankles, face staring somewhere off in the distance, not a care in the world. Just like her dad. Her red hair and milky skin made her look like a model. Their beautiful girl.
Mitch handed her a tissue out of the box. “Here you go, didn’t mean for you to cry.”
She didn’t realize she’d started again. She dabbed her eyes, “Thank you, Mitch. And thank you for the slideshow.” She tapped the screen. “This is my favorite, I think. Would you mind if I had a copy?”
“I’ll have Becky print you off one.”
Liberty nodded, noticed he struggled to keep his eyes open. Knowing how rare a circumstance rest was for him these days, she put the laptop back on the stand, pulled the quilt over his body, and left as he started to snore.
Liberty played chicken with the sunrise, putting off going home as long as she could. Hopefully Nathaniel’s family would be asleep by the time she returned.
She quietly shut the hatch to the cavern, crept down the corridor, and tiptoed past the darkened guest room. She breathed a little easier seeing their lights out. She wouldn’t have to discuss the proposition anymore. At least until they woke.
As she entered the bedchamber she pulled the heavy velvet curtain closed behind her. A hand lingered on the fabric. Though she loved the softness against her fingers, she wished for the thousandth time for a real door. A wooden one that opened to a room basking in sunlight. Warm rays coming in through four, five, or ten windows. No shades or curtains would cover those windows. She’d have no reason to hide. And wherever she lived, it wouldn’t have a basement.
She closed her eyes and played it out inside her head. Her fairytale dream was of life on the upside. To be fully human with a home, and maybe a little dog she could take for walks on bright, summer mornings. She’d wave at her neighbors and then stop at the mailbox to talk to the mail carrier. They’d talk for ages, until, upon realizing how much time had passed, she’d laugh and excuse herself. Lunches for her husband and daughter wouldn’t prepare themselves after all.
Liberty opened her eyes and let go of the curtain. Were big dreams hereditary?
Nathaniel rolled to face her. “Hey,” he said, and though the lantern wick was set low, she saw he stifled a yawn.
“Hey, yourself.” She took off her robe and laid it over the chair near the doorway. He scooted toward the wall and pulled back the quilt so she could climb in.
She quickly searched his expression for desire, found none, so she relaxed. She felt a little guilty, hoped the relief hadn’t shown in her face.
Lying on her side to face him, she let him cover her up. She nudged his legs with a foot and he opened them to entwine her colder ones with his.
The lines around his eyes and on his forehead stayed even after his smile dimmed. He looked rough, way past tired.
“The air get any clearer after I left?” she asked.
“Eh. You know how chatty Katie can be.”
Liberty pressed her lips together, nodded. She didn’t ask for details. Instead, she told him about the slideshow. She spoke of Mitch and how he hadn’t looked good. At all.
“Katie and Gabe aren’t leaving for a couple more days, but I’ll make a point to stop in tomorrow,” Nathaniel said.
“Good. We’ll go together.” She pondered a moment, then, “Since Gabriel and Katie made the generous offer on behalf of Cutler, did you happen to mention we’d already made new arrangements?”
He shrugged slightly. “Not really.”
She reached out and smoothed the frown lines on his forehead, “Maybe when you see Mitch, you can mention it to him. See if he knows of anything.” Neither she, nor Nathaniel had broached the subject with Mitch yet. They didn’t feel comfortable forcing him to think of their move. His impending death.
“What if I can’t find us anything else?”
Nathaniel had found a cave, not far from where they were now, but it was incredibly sloped and small, and didn’t have water. Their first cave, the one they’d lived in when fate delivered Mitch and Ellie to them, didn’t have any either. And Liberty hated to haul water.
“You think it’s possible you won’t?”
“Anything is possible, Liberty.”
Well, obviously not, or he’d have discovered a livable place not too far from Mitch’s property, with water, where she’d be nearby in case Sage ever turned up. And even if not, she’d be close to her memory.
“What about up north? The mountains? Surely an untouched treasure or two can be found?” Plus, she thought, it’s still only a day, two at the most, from Montgomery Woods.
“Yeah, maybe. But we’re running out of time,” his weary expression made Liberty think his heart wasn’t really in it.
“We’ll stay at the little place across the way if we have to in the meantime, but I doubt it’ll come down to that.” She smiled at him. “You’re the best scout in the world.”
She knew he took his obligations seriously, and admired him for it. He’d taken a hit to his ego when he’d lost Sage. Hadn’t really been the same since.
He ignored the compliment. “I’m not saying it’s going to happen, but I think we should maybe, possibly, consider attending the assembly. Get a feel for things. And, depending on how it goes, think about a move back to Proem.”
Proem, there it was again. She’d never escape it. Every fall, the assembly was attended by colonists from as many as four caverns in the state. Parents with children of age came together for a mixer, of sorts. Like they would have done with a sixteen-year-old Sage. Liberty wasn’t interested. Had no reason to be anymore.
She sat up in bed. “You want to work for Cutler? Are you nuts?”
“I never said that.” Nathaniel sat up and faced her. “But I do want for us to be safe.”
“I won’t be safe at Proem. My sister has it in for me. You work as Council and you’ll end up taking me for a walk. Is that what you want?” She turned her back to him. “I can’t believe you think I’d even consider it.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Only hounds get put down.” He caressed her shoulder.
Hounds, the reckless sorts who brought attention to the colony by the chances they took. Them and the unstable.
“Anyway,” Nathaniel continued. “Gabe told me Proem is a lot different now. There are new colonists and many of them are…” He paused. “Forward thinking, like us.”
“Sure, right.” Liberty rolled her eyes. “And then there’s Katie. And, more importantly, Patience, the political princess. She’s neither forward thinking nor new. If you’ll remember, we go way back.”
“Maybe. But Gabe also said that Cutler has found a way to use some of the new technology. Like computers. Can you believe that? And he wants to find ways to help the Sasquatch develop a network to help ensure our safety and maybe even research a cure.”
A cure? He was mad. There was no cure. Being Sasquatch wasn’t a medical condition for crying out loud.
Liberty scoffed. “Hasn’t Mitch already shown you how to use the Internet to track Sasquatch? Why would Cutler’s way be better?”
Nathaniel lowered and leveled his voice, trying to sound placating. “I never said it was.”
“I thought that’s why you left Hickory. So you wouldn’t have to deal with all the politics.”
“That’s true.”
Liberty drove the point home. “We’re doing well on our own.”
“Fine, just, there’s safety in numbers. And without Mitch…there is no safety net. No way to track hunting parties. You know what? Let’s drop it.” He leaned back in a huff.
“Good idea.” No way would she ever rescind her pardon and go back to living with conspirators always on her mind. She turned to lay with her back to him.