A New Safe Place

A New Safe Place

J was rambunctious and headstrong. Following the rules was antithetic. Weathered and worn, from a day of searching, she heard the cry of her Papa to return home. The one rule never challenged; you always show up when called. She had to let go of her search for the calico feline who continued to evade her. Brushing the dust and debris off her pants, she ran back toward the sound of Papa’s voice. A short jog to the familiar face which soothed her dismay.

“I can’t find her anywhere,” J lamented.

“Cats come back when they’re good and hungry. Did you leave a mouse near the porch steps and some fresh catnip?”

“No Papa.”

“Sometimes you have to think like a cat. Remember?”

“You’re right,” J admitted with a sense of defeat.

Papa stared at J while she ate. In 13 years, he never watched someone inhale the food on her plate with such veracity. Dusk was fast approaching, so he asked J to put down her fork and look at him. Tears swelled up in his eyes. What he would ask of J would force her to leave the one place she knew, the one place she felt safe, the one way of life she was accustomed to. It would force her to think about how to survive as an adult.

“Eli came by. The soldiers raided his farm. Burnt it to the ground. They are getting too close to home. You need to leave tonight,” Papa ordered.

The soldiers raided the farms that summer. Banging down the doors, searching the property, intimidating the frightened inhabitants. A lesson to those who challenged authority. The fields were set ablaze. Each fire, a message. Those who withheld information from the government would lose everything. Life after the virus was a mix of fear with a continuous quest for power. Society changed. Those who survived, lived in a time of scrutiny. Learning to do without, living off the land, living with modest resources seemed to be the only way to survive.

J swallowed hard. She was stunned by the request to leave with Eli. Out of habit she reached for her neck. It was still there. She pushed back the tears and shortly after cried out with defiance: “No. No. No! You come with me.”

“We talked about this. I will distract them, and you can get to safety. You need to stay safe. They will be looking for you.”

“What about you? Your life is important. I love you. I am scared. I don’t want to do this,” J begged.

“Sometimes I forget how old you really are. You’ve always been so independent, so stubborn.”

J pulled back her long chocolate-brown tresses to reveal the locket.

“If this is what they want, then we can give it to them!”

“No. This was your mother’s locket. Your mom gave it to you as soon as you could walk. Every day she reminded you to never take it off, to wear it close to your heart. What she did not tell you is why this locket is so important.”

The decade before J was born, the world went through a cataclysmic change. Life was filled with freedom, hope and promise. Then one day a virus infected humanity. Scientists researched ways to combat the disease, while millions of people died each week. During this time, a play for control of both the natural and man-made resources ensued. Food shortages and a struggle to get basic medical supplies caused widespread looting and rioting.

World Leaders were vulnerable to the virus, and many of them had succumbed to it. The strain on resources coupled with the existing power vacuum created a dangerous period of vulnerability. When countries reached a critical breaking point, other nations invaded them to establish regional dominance. Worried about the state of our country, and to prevent invasion by a foreign power, Congress supported the President in enacting martial law. Soldiers were deployed throughout major cities. Individual rights were suppressed in order to bring about and maintain law and order.

Papa wiped the tears from his eyes as he told J about her parents.

“Your parents were scientists. They worked day and night to find a cure for this virus. The soldiers ordered your parents to live at the lab. About the time a cure was discovered, the soldiers found out your parents were going to have a family. This was against the rules. Your dad knew he would have to get your mother to safety, to protect you both. One night, he was able to sneak you both out in the same container truck he was using to ship medical supplies.”

J interrupted, “My father died trying to save me?”

“The soldiers looked for your mother. When they could not find her, they arrested your father. He was never seen or heard from again. The papers said he had killed your mother and was going to be put on trial. However, there was no trial. A year later the papers ran a story about your father discovering a cure for the virus. It was not his picture. It was a picture of another man.”

“Where is my mother?” J asked.

“Your mother knew while she carried you, the virus couldn’t infect you. She protected you by injecting the cure into her blood. Her antibodies were passed onto you every time she fed you. Your immune system has a strength like no other. Your mother came to live with me, to give you a chance to survive. If the government found out about you, and your ability to withstand the virus... if they found out about what is inside the locket…they would take you away.”

The government discovered that a copy of the research was taken from the lab. They learned it was taken by J’s mother. In order to protect them, Papa and his friends devised a system to fabricate clues and mislead the soldiers toward other parts of the country. That worked for just over three years.

Shortly after J’s third birthday, her mother went to town to get supplies. Papa knew something was wrong when she insisted on going. The car was found abandoned the next day in a different state. Papa went through the car hoping to figure out where she went. Under the seat was a note. She agreed to surrender to the government in exchange for immunity and a promise to stop searching for her family.

Soon after, Papa noticed the locket hanging around J’s neck. He examined the locket, realizing it was sealed shut on purpose. He knew this is where the missing lab work was kept. He finally understood the extent of her sacrifice, and the reason that J should remain safe at all costs. It was now up to Papa, to raise J in a safe environment, while keeping the locket intact.

“Why should I go with Eli? Why can’t you come with us? What are you not telling me?” J interrogated.

“I still think of you as a little girl when you are not. Here is the truth. The soldiers are looking for you. I’m not sure how, but the government knows you are alive. They know you are living in this area. You are the daughter of their leading scientist. Inside the locket around your neck is a micro-drive. The locket was sealed shut to keep the drive safe. That research is important enough for them to want it returned.”

“Mom left us to be hunted. They want us both? Or just me? I won’t leave without you.” J left the room stunned, and angry, and stormed off to her room to pack.

A short time later, a knock on the door signaled Eli’s arrival, and J’s departure. The heavy burden of change lingered over all of them. There was nothing to say that would soothe this moment. J reached for the locket and held onto it. Then an idea came to mind.

“Stop. Wait, Papa. I have an idea. You said it yourself. Sometimes you must think like a cat, to find your cat.” Excitement and hope filled her face.

“Don’t waste time. Now go with Eli.

” Please listen, please! If the soldiers are raiding the farms and burning the fields to find the information, give them what they want.” J grabbed Papa and hugged him tight.

“The girl is on to something. It may just buy us enough time for all of us to get out and leave them wondering what happened. It just might work.” Eli wryly laughed.

They all came up with a plan. Dusk was fast approaching, and they needed to move quickly. J and Eli loaded the truck with bags of clothing and food. Papa prepared the house and fields to go up in flames. What seemed like hours was accomplished in minutes. Scattered along the house were old pieces of jewelry and broken software components from an old computer left behind. This would create an illusion among the ashes, that the locket and micro-drive were burned beyond recognition.

Eli and Papa sat inside the cab of the truck, as J hopped into the back. Watching the only home that she knew go up in flames, J hoped this was enough to confuse and delay the soldiers in their search. J was relieved to have Papa with them. The thought of losing the only family she had left was unbearable.

In the distance was audible yelling and confusion, amidst the sound of gunfire, tire screeching and stalled engine mufflers. The soldiers found a burning farm and remnants of the items they were searching for. Their efforts to stall the soldiers had worked.

Papa, J and Eli, had to scramble as fast as they could. The confusion they created gave them a head start to get to another undisclosed safe place, as temporary as that may be.

At least J and Papa were still together.