B2C10

“I apologize for the thick-headedness of my sister,” Soren dabbed at Nora’s left arm with an alcohol soaked cotton ball, “I just can’t believe her sometimes.”

“I hope she’s not getting too chewed out by Julie,” Nora adjusted her position on the recliner, doing her best to minimize the crinkling of the plastic cover.

“She is,” Soren chucked the bloodied cotton ball into a wastebasket, “you need to stop taking responsibility for everything.” Soren looked for a suitable pair of forceps on the metal tray next to Nora, “and I know that we’ve kind of pushed you in that direction. Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Nora looked away and closed her eyes.

“Are you sure you don’t want anesthesia?”

“You guys will need to save as much of that as you can, I’ll be fine. Just tell me when it’s over.”

The spare bathroom-converted operating room was an echo chamber, with the sound of every drip from the faucet bouncing off of the aqua tiled floor and walls. Nora heard Soren’s chair scrape the floor as he readjusted his position. She tried to imagine what she would feel like if she didn’t feel any guilt for what happened in the mall but laying the blame squarely on Dawn seemed too foreign to her for her to get anywhere. The only person she had control over was herself. Everyone involved has multiple chances to avert a disaster. It seemed absurd to Nora that all of humanity managed to ignore every opportunity to avert the destabilization of Earth’s climate, for centuries. Nora wondered if there was some external force that ensured everyone’s participation.

“It’s done Nora.”

Nora opened her eyes. Soren tightly held the shard of aluminum in his forceps as if it was a captured spider. 

“Wow, I didn’t even feel that.”

“Yeah, it’s as if I went to school for this or something.”

“Well I’d be impressed if a surgeon did it too. And you wanted to use anesthesia.”

Nora gingerly pressed a towel against her bandages, trying to squeeze the bathwater out without agitating the wound. Soren sat hunched over his desk, scribbling into his journal. Outside of Soren’s windows, the now bare fields hid in the dark. Despite all the windows being closed, the glass seemed to suck heat out of anything within a few centimeters of it. The house was mostly quiet save for the shuffling of late night revelers trying to find their beds. Nora hung her towel over the chair back and walked to her side of the bed. Before disrobing, she inserted her hand into the sheets.

“Soren?” she called.

Soren turned around in his chair to face her. “What’s wrong?”

“The bed is cold. Like really cold.”

“Okay, be right there,” he giggled slightly now that he knew nothing was seriously wrong. He scribbled in his journal faster before finally closing it. 

Soren dutifully walked to his side of the bed and slipped under the covers.

“Brr, it is cold.”

“Told you so.”

Nora and Soren looked at each other for a few moments.

“The bed is probably warm enough now,” said Soren.

“Probably,” Nora slipped into the bed. It was still cold but not unbearably so. She sidled up to Soren.

“So this is our last night together,” Soren stroked her hair.

“Mhm,” Nora wrapped her arms around him.

“You seem more comfortable with that.”

“Really?” Nora listened to his heartbeat, “I guess I realized what you said. That, in the long run, leaving is a good thing for me, no matter how sad that may be.”

“I’m glad that you feel better.”

“Me too.” Nora looked Soren in the eyes.

“Do you want to uhh…”

“One last time?” 

“Yeah,” he said, withstanding her gaze, “assuming that your injuries don’t hurt too much.”

Nora placed a hand on Soren’s cheek, “don’t worry, oxytocin is a natural painkiller.”

Practically the entire family was crowded in the living room. More accurately, everyone in the Clemson and Pelletier households were trying to be in the living room with the crowd spilling into all of the rooms on the first floor. Everyone was either trying to say goodbye to Nora or talking about her to the person next to them.

“Nora, we’re going to miss you so much!”

“Nora, please be safe out there.”

“Nora, give my regards to Nick, won’t you?”

“Does this mean Soren will take care of the dam now?”

“Auntie Nora, can you show us how to do that magic trick before you go?”

“Take care Nora, and do think of us once in a while.”

“Nora, you will always be in our hearts.”

“If Nora’s leaving, I think I have a chance!” “Mhm! you act fast though.”

“Fly safe kid, and don’t be a stranger, eh?”

“Nora, are you sure about this? It’s so much nicer here.”

“Stand back! Stand back! You’re practically stepping on her toes here.”

“Why do you get to be next to Nora anyways, Dawn?”

Dawn had one arm around Nora’s shoulders, guiding her away from the shifting crowd front, while she used the other to point at and push away over eager family members.

“Not quite the sendoff you were imagining, huh?” Dawn said as she pushed the two of them right a step to stay in the eye of the people storm.

“I was expecting something of this magnitude,” Nora tried to spot people in the adjoining rooms, “just a little more organized.”

“I think a lot of them weren’t prepared for you to actually leave,” said Soren while shielding Nora from the other side, “and by a lot, I mean everyone.”

“Well, unless we find a way to mosey to the front door, I wouldn’t be so sure,” Nora tried to lead Dawn towards the oak double doors, “the Arkship shuttle leaves in three days.”

“Don’t worry about that, Mom can clear a path,” said Dawn, “where is she anyways?”

Nora noted that a particularly loud outburst towards the front of the house was getting louder instead of dying down. Suddenly everyone in the house started rushing towards Nora. People shouted as they tripped over each other, chairs clattered as they were tipped over, glass and plates shattered, and scraping came from tables as they were shoved to the side. Dawn and Soren quickly hugged Nora from both sides, shielding her from the hail of knees, elbows, and feet. Nora opened her eyes and peered out from her shelter to see Julie stalking towards them, shotgun leveled straight at her.

Nora’s mind went blank. The only feeling in her body was fear, the fight or flight response, the need to do something. A squeezing sensation from Dawn and Soren’s arms jump started her train of consciousness.

“Why is this happening?”

“What is happening?”

“What happened?”

“What?”

“Why?” 

With a marksman’s aim, Julie advanced through the wrecked living room until she was a few meters from Nora.

“Dawn, Soren, step away from Nora.”

Nora cowered between the two for a few moments, waiting. Nothing happened.

“Dawn.”

Nora felt Dawn release her grip and heard her back away.

“Soren, step away from Nora…”

Soren squeezed Nora tighter.

“Now!” commanded Julie.

Nora felt Soren hesitantly loosen his hold on her, followed by several careful footsteps away. She was all alone now. Nora opened her eyes and lowered her hands to see the double barrels of the shotgun staring at her. 

“Am I going to die?” The thought made her slump to the floor. The barrels of the shotgun followed her.

“Nora,” Julie took a moment to swallow, “you are going to stay here with us for the next two weeks, and then you can do whatever you want. Do you understand?”

Nora couldn’t say anything. She couldn’t even manage a simple gesture like a nod. All Nora could do was look up at Julie. She looked different somehow.

“I heard about the river,” the shotgun rattled in her hands, “about how it will dry up in a few decades and render the dam useless and us powerless.”

Nora continued to look at Julie. She barely looked like the same person she knew, the one who made blueberry muffins for her and who cared for her like she was the last surviving example of a species of extinct plant. In this situation, nothing seemed to be worth doing or thinking about, but she nonetheless kept studying her potential killer.

“I want you to know that even if the river wasn’t drying up, I would still do what was necessary to make sure you stayed. Please understand.”

Something wasn’t right. Julie, tall and imposing but with a caring aura, looked small and frail. Although her aim was true, Julie’s hold of the weapon was awkward, as if she was trying to avoid contact with its tarnished surface as if the gun itself was blighted. 

Nora’s thoughts began to march, picking up momentum and other thoughts.

It would be a disaster if Julie fired the shotgun in here, others would surely get caught in the spray of bullets. Not to mention Nora was useless to them dead. Julie was not a risk-taker.

“I—” Nora was surprised by how difficult it was to form words, “I think I do understand.” She got up from the floor, carefully as her knees were still wobbly. For the first time, she was eye level with Julie.

“I understand what staying here would look like,” Nora carefully began to circle around Julie, naturally the barrels followed her. “I understand the people I would be staying with, and I understand what I am to them.”

“That’s enough of that sort of thinking,” Julie pulled back the first hammer on the shotgun, eliciting a loud click.

For a moment, animal fear seized Nora’s body again. She almost fell back down. However, she focused on her thoughts, the useful, human ones, and continued circling, all the while staring down the barrels of the shotgun.

“No, it is that sort of thinking that makes me who I am,” said Nora. The breech of the shotgun passed through a beam of light. Suddenly, at the far end of the first barrel, a glint of light in the darkness, light from the outside, in other words, an empty barrel.

Nora took a step forward, ignoring the pain from her wounds. She couldn’t know for sure if the barrel was empty, but in this moment betting her life on it was a sure gamble. Julie took half a step back.

“And it’s going to be what gets me out of here, now and in a week.” Nora gently put her hand over the muzzle of the shotgun. Her heart raced as she felt the cold steel but still her thoughts marched. With the slightest bit of force, Nora pointed the shotgun upwards. Julie’s hands offered no resistance. With her other hand, Nora placed her finger over the shotgun’s trigger.

Nora pulled the trigger.

Click.

Nora’s heart skipped a beat, but otherwise nothing happened.

Julie, back against the wall, slid down to the floor, sobbing.

“I wish you all could just come with me,” said Nora.

At that moment, she realized that she was the only person standing in the house. She looked at everyone. They all averted their eyes, ashamed. Only Soren looked at her, begging forgiveness. Nora nodded ever so slightly and then turned. She walked between all the people laying on the ground, nearly tripping and stumbling her way out the front door. She hastily unplugged her truck, put the charging cable back in its holster, climbed in the truck, and drove away faster than she had ever driven in her life.

Although it wasn’t yet midday, the sky was dark with clouds by the time Nora careened into the front lot of the Silverton house. Nick waved his arms frantically to signal Nora to stop. The pickup skidded to a halt, its undercarriage tinkled as the tires threw up gravel.

“Nora! what are you doing?” Nick said, grabbing his head. “What’s happening?”

“Dad!” Nora stumbled out of the cab and tacked her father with a tight hug. 

“Darling what happened? Are you okay?” He wrapped his arms around her securely. He leaned back upon noticing her bandages, “what’s this? Did they hurt you?”

“Dad, they—“ Nora struggled to let everything on her mind out at once in between sobs. “No they didn’t hurt me, I mean they did, but not this, or maybe this too, and then right before I left. I—you were right.”

“Nora, you’re okay,” he assured her, “calm down. What happened?”

“They, she—“ Nora took a moment to swallow and exhaled to become just calm enough to speak. “Julie tried to stop me from leaving the house with the shotgun. I mean she had the shotgun. I mean, um,” Nora looked to her father to see if he was able to put together what she couldn’t.

“She what?” Nick pulled Nora into a protective embrace. Nora could hear his heart race.

“She’s not coming,” whimpered Nora, “none of them are.”

“How can you be sure?” 

Nora had never seen her father so worked up. “I, they, I tested, and—” Nora broke down again trying to summarize how she escaped. “They’re just not. They know they can’t.” Nora pleaded with her eyes.

“Okay,” said Nick, “I trust you. But do tell me what happened when you are able, okay?”

Nora nodded.

“Let’s finish packing and have an early dinner,” he said, “the shuttle arrives at six in the morning. We can board it tomorrow and get a head start on our new life. Does that sound good?”

Nora nodded and the two of them entered their house for the last time.

Despite having made preparations for weeks, there was still a lot of work to do: packing, tracking, organizing, sealing, and double and triple checking. It did a good job of distracting Nora although a vague sense of sadness and grief persisted throughout the day. By the time they had finished, the sun had long set. For their last meal on Earth, Nora’s father prepared a stew from some rabbits he caught earlier in the day. Sadly, Nora didn’t have much appetite and instead poked at her food.

“I know you’re not feeling great,” said Nick, “but you should try to eat something, we won’t be able to take any food with us onto the shuttle and the food onboard isn’t quite fine dining.”

Nora dutifully sipped some of the broth. “I just don’t understand,” she said, “why would they go to such lengths to stay? Going so far as to threaten another human… What could make someone want to stay somewhere so bad so badly?”

Nick sighed deeply. “I don’t have an answer to your question,” he said, “but this has happened before.”

Nora stopped stirring her stew, he had her full attention.

“A long time ago,” Nick took out a marker and began drawing directly on the table, “before the formation of the three meta nations, pre digital era, even pre industrial era, the United States of America was a young country with problems. The southern half of the country engaged in the inhumane practice of keeping slaves which they kidnapped en masse from the African continent. The slaves suffered greatly every minute of their lives but were trapped by the cruelty of the slave keepers.”

“That’s horrible,” said Nora, worried by how this was relevant to the Clemsons.

“Yes,” he said, “it was such a problem that the United States went to war with itself. The southern half lost and as a result slavery was ended in America. However that short period of slave keeping introduced a profound evil into the psyche of that country that would linger for centuries causing turmoil and suffering countless more times. Despite their new liberty, the Africans were still tortured and even killed on a daily basis in the southern part of the United States.”

“What about the northern part?” Nora studied the map and timeline on the table.

“The Africans still experienced prejudice but it was significantly better, they were treated as humans at least. But here’s the interesting bit, while many of them moved north where they wouldn’t be tortured and killed, many also stayed.”

Nora tried to make sense of her father’s statement. “Surely those people didn’t have the means or knowledge to leave,” she said, “or maybe they were being kept there by the former slave keepers?”

“No doubt that was the case for many,” said Nick, “but people were escaping even before the civil war when it was much more dangerous. And the people that stayed settled down, they had children in the south and their children had children, and no matter how many generations passed, they continued to live in that place that continued to hurt them so much. They continued to live there up until the exoduses.”

“There could even be some there right now,” Nora stared at the table, “I hope they take their shuttle this time.”

“I hope so too,” said Nick, “but the point here is that there will always be people that choose to stay and endure whatever hardship and danger a place may present to them and it may be for a reason that we will never understand but that doesn’t necessarily make it wrong.”

“I see,” said Nora, “thank you for that lesson, it… helps, somehow.”

“Of course sweetie,” said Nick, “now finish your dinner.”

Nora was jolted awake by rumbling. Everything on her desk clattered and clinked from the shaking, the moonlight refracted through various knick-knacks played across the walls and ceiling. Nora peered from under her comforter to see an orange glow pass over her house, briefly illuminating the dim interior. Then the room was silent again.

“That must be the shuttle,” she thought, “Soren probably heard it too.” Nora curled into a ball, pulling the edge of the comforter out from under the bed. She opened one eye to peep her alarm clock to see “05.57” in red numbers. She closed her eyes and lay like that for a few minutes. She then hopped out of her bed and quickly put on a robe over her pajamas.

“Nora, the shuttle.”

“I heard it Dad,” Nora stuffed her hands into her armpits and sat on the edge of the bed.

“Are you out of bed yet?”

“Yes Dad,” she said, standing up. “I’m getting ready now.”

Nora ran over her checklist one last time while Nick fastened a tarp over the top of the pickup bed.

“Okay everything is packed,” he dusted his hands, “what’s left?”

“All that’s left is to disconnect the basement battery bank and make sure the doors are unlocked on our way out.”

“Alright, be right back,” said Nora’s father.

Nora watched him enter the house. She gave a hard look-over of the house. She’d moved houses before but this of course felt different. She tried to imprint a lasting memory of the facade of her house since she knew she would never see it again and didn’t like the idea of forgetting what the home of her formative years looked like. At that moment, the porch light turned off and Nora became aware of a distinct lack of a hum for the first time at the house. Nick shortly came out the front door putting away his flashlight.

“Alright,” he said, patting her on the back, “let’s go to space.”

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