Evalene's Number: The Number Series Page 24

  “Oh, um… well, it’s hard to remember the exact words.” Sanidine blushed, and wouldn’t meet his eye. “Um… I just mentioned how I’d seen her with you a few times recently, and… well, she seemed a bit angry about it…” Sanidine cleared her throat. “I could be wrong, but I got the impression that there was something personal.”

  Nodding, Jeremiah thanked her. He knew Evie had planned to stay on the island. But it was strange that she’d left the camp so soon. She couldn’t possibly have a place to stay yet. He didn’t have any answers for the women. Sanidine returned to her table, but Trona still stared him down. “What did you do?”

  Luc entered the tent as Jeremiah protested, “I didn’t do anything! Evie already told me she was going to leave. I completely understand.”

  His friend joined them at the table, also picking up a sandwich. Through a mouthful, he said, “Your new girl didn’t say goodbye? I saw her yesterday morning at the council tent. Maybe she chickened out.” Jeremiah raised his brows at that. She’d come to the tent?

  Luc clapped a hand on Jeremiah’s shoulder as he took another bite. “Don’t worry, man. We’re gonna win this thing. You’ll come back to her in no time.”

  But Trona interrupted him. “Doesn’t matter if he comes back or not if he upset her.” She crossed her arms, standing up for all womankind, and making sure Jeremiah knew it.

  “Trona, I swear to you, I didn’t do any – ” He stopped at a thought. “Luc, what time did you say you saw Evie?”

  “We’d just finished that talk after breakfast.” Luc skirted around the topic of their discussion since the women were listening, but Jeremiah remembered the conversation clearly. His gut told him he knew why she’d left. Luc had been telling him a Number 28 should lead the country. Had Evie overheard that Luc meant him?

  Turning back to the women, Jeremiah looked past Trona to Sanidine. “What time did you run into Evie on the road?”

  “About a half hour after breakfast ended, Captain,” the young woman answered.

  The timing confirmed his instincts.

  Jeremiah nodded his thanks to Sanidine, then to the cook. “Thank you, Trona, for bringing it to my attention.”

  The cook frowned and opened her mouth, but he spoke first. “I’ll make sure to look into it further. Right now, I’m needed at the pier. Are you prepared to run the camp with whoever is left until we return?”

  Not a question he usually asked her when leaving, but they both heard the unspoken question behind it: Are you prepared to run the camp if we don’t return?

  Nodding, Trona uncrossed her arms and dropped the matter, huffing as she returned to her worktable and dismissing him from her kitchen with a wave of the arm.

  Luc stole a sandwich on his way out and Jeremiah followed suit. As they strode towards the pier, they passed refugees and soldiers, some headed to the pier as well, others leaving camp in the direction of Hofyn with guilty expressions, not meeting his eyes. Jeremiah pitched his voice low so only Luc would hear. “How bad is it?”

  Luc didn’t answer immediately. That never bode well. “Let’s see…” he scratched the dark stubble forming on his chin in thought. “The good news is we’ve rescued over 20,000 people from Eden.”

  Jeremiah nodded. He knew the stats. Great news any other day. But the reminder didn’t make him feel better today.

  “And nearly 10,000 stayed here in camp, planning to join us…” Luc trailed off.

  Again, Jeremiah nodded. Luc was only stating what he already knew, avoiding the question. They crested the hill, finally able to see the harbor that should’ve been full of men, and Luc didn’t need to say another word. Only a small fraction of the beach and surrounding area, which should’ve been packed shoulder to shoulder with people, was full.

  Luc took a deep breath. “We have under a thousand men.”

  The air flew out of Jeremiah’s lungs as if he’d been punched.

  Hundreds.

  How they would ever succeed with less than a thousand – with less than five thousand even – it would have to be a miracle. Well Lord, I guess that’s the point, right? He sighed.

  He felt Luc’s eyes on the back of his neck. His friend had always felt that people should believe whatever they wanted. He’d never had any interest in God, although he liked the way Jeremiah and Beryl saw God more than the way the church of Eden did. When the council had first voted on the dream, Luc had been one of the votes against it. But once the decision was made, Luc supported the choice, unlike a few others on the council.

  “You could still stop it,” Luc said lightly.

  Turning, Jeremiah met Luc’s eyes. “No.”

  “It’s only a few years of planning gone to waste. We could sail to the FreeLands. Make a living hauling stuff. Lots of ships work trade routes.”

  “No,” Jeremiah said again, shaking his head firmly. “I can’t.”

  Luc rolled his eyes at Jeremiah. “Okay, I know God wants us to do this and all. I hear you. But if we didn’t do it, he could probably find somebody else, right? I mean, does God want us dead?”

  Frustration boiled in Jeremiah at his friend’s doubts. He stopped in his tracks, forcing Luc to stop too. “You sound like everyone else, asking me to take the easy way, telling me to be selfish, to run away.” His fists clenched as he tried to find the words. “You know what I don’t understand?” He didn’t wait for Luc to respond. “Why do people think life is so great outside of God’s plan? Do you think that we would live forever if we abandoned Eden and went somewhere else?”

  Jeremiah pressed a hand to his temple where the pain was the worst, struggling to speak past the blinding headache. “We could die in the FreeLands just as easily as we could die in Eden. And would our success drown out the news of our friends suffering back home? Is your ‘easier way’ really that much easier in the end?”

  “Absolutely,” Luc snorted. “Not dying is a hundred percent better as far as I’m concerned.”

  Jeremiah dropped his hand to look Luc directly in the eyes. “We are all going to die someday.” He held Luc’s gaze, daring him to argue. “There’s no guarantee any of us will live longer if we play it safe.”

  Luc turned away, toward the pier and the men. He shrugged. Jeremiah pushed further. “Whether we live to be ninety or die tomorrow, only God knows, but at least while I’m living I can do what’s right.”

  Luc nodded thoughtfully, not saying anything for a moment. When he looked up finally, his face was serious, but he deadpanned. “Guess we’re doing it then.” And he saluted Jeremiah. “Lead on, Captain.”

  The corner of Jeremiah’s mouth lifted in a smile, and he nodded his acceptance as they descended towards the pier. “We need to leave as soon as possible.”

  “Eh,” Luc said, slapping the air away, back to his casual self. “I’ve got tons of time. It’s gonna take you hours to sort everybody out and get all the supplies on board.”

  “Me?” Jeremiah mock lifted his eyebrows. “Oh no, I won’t be alone. I have a first mate to do all the dirty work.”

  His first mate frowned back at him.

  “Besides,” Jeremiah continued, “there’s no need to load supplies. We never unloaded, just left them on the ship for a week. Trona and her kitchen staff restocked the fresh food per the council’s request. All that’s left is to get the crew on board.”

  “That’ll still take hours,” Luc shrugged.

  “Technically, yes.” Jeremiah tucked his hands in his pockets as they walked. “But again, I have my first mate to take care of that. I’ll be taking the first full ship, and we’ll set off as soon as they’re aboard.”

  Now Luc’s frown was real. “You’re leaving me behind? I thought we were in this together?”

  “We are,” Jeremiah reassured him, clapping a hand on his friend’s back. “You know we had to downsize the original plan. We were already short on good sailors before this started. I need you to captain a ship.”

  “Jer –,” Luc interrupted.

  “Don’t wor
ry! You and I will still have the same rendezvous point when we land.”

  “Jer,” Luc tried again, “I don’t like it. The fighting could start before I get there –”

  But Jeremiah cut him off. “Look.” He gestured widely to small groups of men they were approaching. “We don’t have the options we used to have. I need people I can trust to make sure everything goes smoothly on the other ships. Luc, I need you to do this.”

  Luc didn’t like it, but he understood. He frowned, nodding his acceptance.

  Reaching the men, he and Luc became all business, quickly assembling the first full ship, Jeremiah’s submarine. As the men assigned to Old Victorious loaded up, Jeremiah, Luc, and the council members bent their heads together, sorting out last minute details. The last dozen men boarded.

  “Hold on,” Jeremiah said to Luc, searching his pockets. “Do you have any paper?”

  They scrounged up a piece of paper and a short, worn pencil. Holding it against his leg, he wrote quickly, then folded the paper carefully. Returning the pencil to its owner, he held the folded paper out to Luc. “I need you to do me a favor.”

  “Mmmhmm,” Luc accepted it, reading the name on the front. He tucked it into his right breast pocket. “I don’t want to ruin the moment or anything, but… you know I’ll only be a few hours behind you.”

  “Right,” Jeremiah said. “Um, give it to Trona before you go.”

  “Ok, and then I’ll tell her to bury it somewhere special that only you two lovebirds have ever been.” Luc scrunched up the entire left side of his face in an exaggerated wink.

  “Sure, great idea,” Jeremiah muttered back, ignoring the jab. It was useless to argue with Luc, to explain that he didn’t have feelings. And what if he did? It still wasn’t the right time to act on them. He needed to focus on the revolution.

  He held out a hand, and Luc clasped it. They held for a moment, then let go. Without another word, Jeremiah strode across the long levee dock. He climbed aboard his submarine, entering the hatch, and traveled down deep into the belly of his ship.

  31

  Is It Too Late?

  I DON’T KNOW IF we’ll get there in time,” Evalene said, gasping. Her legs were trembling and her lungs were on fire.

  Olive looped her arm through Evalene’s in support. “You see that hill up ahead with the big boulder?” She pointed to a distant spot down the path.

  All Evalene saw was green. Green grass and trees for miles to the left and to the right. But when she squinted, she thought she glimpsed a large rock. She nodded.

  “That’s the camp entrance,” Olive said, tugging at Evalene. “C’mon, just a little further!”

  Evalene’s muscles felt shaky and weak. But she put one foot in front of the other, and finally they reached the top of the hill, entering the camp.

  “Where is everyone?” Evalene wondered out loud. The camp was deserted.

  “I’m sure they’re all down at the harbor,” Olive said, not slowing. “They’re scheduled to depart today.”

  Evalene bit her lip, worrying they’d left already.

  “Let’s hurry to the pier,” Olive took off down the path through the tents, “We can still make it!”

  The sun was almost directly above them, well past the end of the breakfast shifts when the boats were scheduled to leave. But Evalene forced her feet to move, jogging after Olive, nearly tripping a few times when she didn’t lift her feet high enough.

  They crested the hill on the opposite side and the water came into view. A ship was sailing off into the distance.

  “No!” Olive wailed. “That’s one of our ships!”

  Evalene sagged, slowing down.

  But Olive didn’t stop. She waved Evalene on. “There’s still a small group down in the harbor, hurry!”

  Dragging herself forward, Evalene ignored the blisters on her feet, finding the strength for a wobbly jog down the hill to the waterfront. What if Jeremiah was leaving right that second? Olive stayed with her until the last stretch, when she caught sight of Luc. Squealing, she ran ahead, waving to him.

  Luc frowned. “What are you doing here? Is Mae hurt?”

  “No silly, Grandma’s fine,” Olive smacked him lightly on the arm. “Is the captain still here?”

  Luc shook his head, “No, he took the first ship. They left right after breakfast.”

  The ship they’d seen earlier was now just a tiny dot in the distance. “That wasn’t the first ship?” Olive asked.

  “No, that was the fourth,” Luc told them. “Mine will be the last one.”

  “You’re kidding,” Olive said. “But that means there’s only…”

  “A little over 900,” Luc confirmed her thoughts. “The ships are at full capacity, except for this last one. I’d say we boarded roughly 150-200 on each of them, depending on their size.”

  As Evalene listened, the grim twist of Luc’s mouth as he relayed the numbers told her they weren’t good. Olive’s rare lack of optimism spoke even louder.

  “Oh, Evie,” Luc patted his front breast pocket, “Jeremiah asked me to give this to you. I didn’t expect to see you…” He trailed off, handing a small, folded piece of paper to her. Evalene took it. Jeremiah had left her a message? That was above and beyond charity. Her heart beat faster, hopeful.

  Unfolding the note, she felt both Luc and Olive’s eyes on her. “I’ll be over here.” She pointed to a nearby log, hobbling over to it for some privacy, kicking off her shoes to free the blisters as she sat.

  Jeremiah’s script was hastily scrawled across the paper, his handwriting bold and confident, just like him.

  Dear Evie,

  I can’t stop thinking about you since we met. You’re destined for great things, once you realize how valuable you are. I think you overheard my Number, but even if you didn’t, I want to tell you. It was a 28. It’s not who I am and means nothing to me. But if I hurt you by keeping it in the past, please forgive me. I hope to come back here after the fight to see you. I would like to get to know you better.

  -Jeremiah

  Evalene’s heart agreed with the note immediately. He wasn’t a 28. He was so much more than that. He was loyal, kind, and an amazing leader… his Number didn’t fit him at all. But what stood out to her most was that he thought she was valuable too. No one had called her that in years. Could it be true?

  She reread the letter.

  I can’t stop thinking about you… I hope to come back to see you. He wanted to see her again. He didn’t know she wanted to join them.

  Olive’s bare feet appeared in her blurred vision. “What’s going on? What did he say?” She plopped down on the log beside Evalene. “It’s a love note, isn’t it? That would be so romantic…” Olive stared over at Luc. He was oblivious.

  Holding a clipboard, Luc was checking off supplies as the men loaded the ship, coming from a large tent at the edge of camp.

  “Evie, you’re killing me,” Olive said when Evalene didn’t answer. “Did he ask you to come with him? I wish Luc would ignore Grandma Mae and ask me to come with.”

  Evalene folded the paper. She didn’t want to show it to Olive just yet. She wasn’t sure what it meant. And it felt too special to share. But she could tell Olive part of it. “He told me his real Number.”

  “Oh wow,” Olive breathed the words on a sigh. “How perfect.”

  “Not really,” Evalene rubbed her fingers along the creases of the paper folds. “I didn’t get a chance to talk to him. Or ask if I was still welcome to join them.” She placed the paper in her pocket for safekeeping.

  “Of course you’re still welcome!” Olive swiveled on the log to face Evalene. “Do you still want to go?”

  Evalene frowned and nodded once, firmly. “I do.” She’d known she wanted to for a while now. She stood. Watching the line of men and women boarding the ships, she gathered her courage to ask Luc if she could board.

  “Grandma’s going to be so mad,” Olive whispered before saying to Evalene louder, “I’m coming too.” She stood,
adding, “I just need to figure out how to get past Luc. And everyone else.”

  The idea of Olive coming with made Evalene feel so much better. Studying Luc and the assembly line, Evalene thought for a minute. “I have an idea. Follow me.” As they approached Luc and the men carrying supplies, she whispered her plan to Olive.

  The girl immediately agreed to it. “I can handle Luc,” she whispered. As soon as they were within earshot, she raised her voice. “Luc, give us some boxes, we’re helping!”

  “No way,” he replied, running an anxious hand through his short-cropped hair. “We have enough to do without having to babysit you two.” He waved another man on towards the gangplank for the ship, checking another item off his list.

  But Olive wasn’t taking no for an answer. “We don’t need supervision carrying boxes from one place to the next. You’re not letting me fight, you’re not even letting me go with – the least you can let do is let me help!”

  Luc had clearly heard the argument before. He was stuck in a hard place between grandmother and granddaughter. Sighing, he gave in. Waving towards the line coming down the hill from camp, he said, “Don’t break your back trying to be a hero. Just bring whatever you can carry. Don’t make me regret this.”

  With a quick “Thanks Luc!” Olive and Evalene headed in the direction of the supply tent. Once there, they searched for boxes that would be easy to carry.

  Lifting a case the size of a large pillow off the table, Olive whirled to leave. Evalene hoisted a smaller box and hurried to keep up. It was heavier than she’d thought.

  They lugged their load down the hill towards the docks, pausing as they passed Luc so he could check their choices off his list. He didn’t say a word, just nodded them on.

  Marching along the pier with the other sailors loading up, they passed the smaller docks and continued to the levee wall where the submarine and other larger ships anchored outside of the bay. The line of men trailed like ants along the pier, across the plank and onto the ship.