Chapter 1

The ever-present warm breeze carried a hint of honeysuckle from the vines clinging to the decayed cinder block building.  I slid my sunglasses onto my head and shaded my eyes from the blistering sun as I took in the wonder of a small butterfly cluster fluttering from one blossom to the next. Their graceful wings sported a brilliant kaleidoscope of colors that complemented the rich tangerine, trumpet shaped flowers. I looked through the view finder of my camera and adjusted the focus ring until I had a clear view of one of nature’s surviving and exquisite works of art.

My finger hovered over the shutter release button. I started to sweat with anticipation.  Scenes of this sort in this part of the world were highly sought after in the photographic art circle. I may not deal much with the world around my remote little nucleus, but my grandfather somehow managed.  He had all the right connections to get my photos to the people who would pay top dollar. He’d done it several times over the last few years. What began as a hobby became somewhat of a profession for me. It helped us purchase the supplies we were unable to produce on our own for our daily living. It gave me a sense of purpose and made me feel useful within the family structure. 

I regretted the waste of battery life my digital camera suffered because of the insignificant shots I’d taken of dull, lifeless nothing throughout the day. How was I to know I’d stumble upon such beauty in the middle of this deluge of destruction? I wagered I had enough battery juice for at least one shot. I needed to take my time to make sure I got the best take first try.

Just one good shot, I thought.

I took a deep breath as I steadied my hand and said softly, “Make it count.”

“Make what count?” uttered a deep, masculine, and incredibly sultry voice from behind me.

I couldn’t believe my bad luck as the camera flew from my startled fingers. When it bounced off my combat boots I could hear the click of the shutter releasing.  My one shot was wasted.

“Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!” I shouted as I crouched down to retrieve my camera and inspect it closely. 

Sure enough, the battery was dead. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too. My name is not stupid, it’s Geordie.  Geo for short,” said the same deep masculine voice, whose allure I would have probably succumbed to had I not been so agitated.

I reluctantly pulled my attention from my camera to study the newly arrived stranger. His long shaggy hair billowed out from beneath a worn and dirt caked wide brimmed Indiana Jones fedora.  It looked like under all the dust his matted locks of thick curls would be raven black when clean. He sported an equally unkempt beard that he either kept closely cropped or was relatively new. The stench of his sweaty body beneath a cotton turtleneck and cotton trench coat permeated the air as he bowed low in greeting. 

He removed his sunglasses to display rich brown, doe-like eyes that were still protected from the piercing sun’s rays by the shadows of the fedora’s broad rim. They danced with amusement when I threw my hand over my nose and mouth in response to his stench.

“I thought I was alone,” I managed to say while practically choking on the words.

“I know,” he replied.

I waited for him to elaborate his statement.  When he didn’t, I looked back at the picturesque scene of butterflies and honeysuckle with forlorn longing.

“Was it important?” he asked.

“Who are you?” I asked suspiciously.

“I already introduced myself,” he shot back at me, “which is more than you’ve done.”

“Anyone from these parts wouldn’t have to ask if a shot like that was important,” I said suspiciously. “They would know.”

I figured if I stood and brought myself to full height he still had an easy eight inches on me. I guessed him to be over six foot tall.  My five feet four-inch frame was slight and wiry, but I wasn’t to be underestimated. My grandfather, who was still in phenomenal physical condition, took great pains over the years to teach me multiple forms of self-defense with and without the aid of a weapon. I could take down a man twice my size before he knew what hit him. There looked to be a considerable amount of bulk beneath the layers of clothing he wore, but if push came to shove I thought I could take him. The fact that I carried my grandfather’s skinner strapped to my calf added to my confidence.  I’d sharpened its blade just that morning. I decided to stay crouching just a little longer to assure easy access to the skinner if need be.

“You’re not from here either,” the stranger practically said with irritated defense, “so keep the hied.”

I’d never heard that saying and had no idea what it meant.

“Keep the hied?  Where are you from?” I persisted.

“Where are you from?” he taunted.

I’d placed my sunglasses back over my deep brown, almond shaped eyes. It was as if he could see right through the dark lens as he locked his own captivating ones with mine for an easy thirty seconds.  It had to be the longest thirty seconds of my life. He made a connection that was strangely alluring and I felt a fluttering deep inside me. When I was finally able, I looked away uncomfortably. 

Standing slowly, I slung my camera strap over my shoulder and started down the once graveled road at a pace just below a jog.  I was careful to keep my focus on the heat waves hovering above the ground in the distance while I waited for the fluttering to dissipate.

“Hey!” he shouted with obvious annoyance after me.

I didn’t turn around.

To my agitation, he was next to me in no time.  I studied him through my peripheral vision as best I could. He sported the swagger of someone with confidence. It was odd for such a disheveled man. His sexy voice and alluring stare was rapidly overshadowed by his appearance and stench.

“You stink,” I growled.

“We all suffer this terrain, heat, and sparseness of water,” he said with a shrug.

Was he implying I stank? I’d been wandering the dusty terrain for the majority of the day so I was hot and sweaty, but did I stink like him? I wanted to sniff my armpits or at least slap the dust from my pant legs, but I refused to stoop that low in front of him. Instead I smirked and kept looking toward the heat haze in the distance.

“How can you stand wearing all those layers?” I quizzed.

“Do you see that heat haze ahead?” he asked.

Was he kidding me?  Of course, I saw the heat haze.  Anyone with a pair of working eyes could see the heat haze. It completely monopolized the horizon.

When I looked at him like he was retarded he continued, “It’s like the carrot held just far enough away to remain unreachable.  You walk and walk and walk toward it and never reach it, right?”

I grunted in agreement.

“Wrong,” he growled. “We’re in it right now.  It’s our wounded ozone and it’s everywhere. It’s loaded with UVC rays. Do you know what they can do to you?”

“That’s ridiculous,” I said with a chuckle of disbelief as I looked around me for signs of the haze that looked so far away.  If those rays were in our immediate environment I’m sure my grandmother would have come up with some form of protection for them. Come to think of it, she had created the balm I wore on my skin.

“Okay, so maybe it’s not everywhere,” he relented, “but it’s pretty damned near everywhere and you know it. I would rather cook inside these layers than fry under the onslaught of those rays. Besides, cotton absorbs the sweat and helps keep a body cool.”  He looked me up and down and added, “You’re crazy.”

“Cotton also holds the stench,” I said in a low tone meant only for me.

I wasn’t sure if he was trying to goad me into a confrontation or if he really thought I was crazy for dressing like I did. Unlike my new-found companion, I sported baggy faded jeans and an equally faded, loose fitting tee shirt that was complete with a hole or two in places where modesty didn’t matter much. I suppose if I was to be concerned about the effects of the UVC rays then what I wore would be completely inappropriate, but I wasn’t concerned. What he didn’t know was that my body was protected with a homemade sunscreen concocted by my grandmother who happened to be a master herbalist. I didn’t know much about who was left out there practicing herbology and herbal magic but I was sure she was amongst the best of the best.  She claimed her concoction was potent enough to protect me from anything the sun could dish out.  I’d been wearing it for over ten years without so much as a tan, so clearly, she was on to something. I often thought about how unfortunate it was that we were stuck so far away from society.  She could make a killing on the formula if she and my grandfather weren’t such hermits. When I suggested he sell her sunscreen over the web like he did my photos he said the delivery would be too complicated.  I suppose he was right.     

“Okay, so you protect yourself from the sun with those stinky clothes,” I grumbled as I did my best to move past the insult he’d just lashed at me.  “How do you explain that disgusting matted mop on your head?”

“I may not know your name, but I certainly have a handle on your manners,” he said laughingly.

I scowled, but said nothing.  Since I was a babe in arms, it was drilled into me that strangers were not to be trusted. Any one of them could be one of Bartholomew’s men. Even though he killed my mother, the sick tyrant swore to kill her offspring as well. I occasionally encountered a stranger, but only in passing. They never stuck around to exchange niceties like this character was trying to do. I was a little lost on how to deal with him. My grandparent’s warnings about Bartholomew bellowed inside my head like an enormous, annoying bell in a belfry. Was this stranger one of his men?

“Why are you here?” I demanded.

It was a fair question.  We were traveling in one of the most desolate parts of the country. I’d wandered a little further from home than normal because I was determined to find that one photo that would give me and my grandparents a comfortable cushion for the better part of the year.  Had I not wandered, I probably would have been spared his irritating and stinky company.

“I’m searching for someone,” he replied.

“Here?” I gasped in disbelief as I looked around to emphasize exactly where we were.

“Yep,” he replied.

“Good luck with that,” I said mockingly as I picked up my pace.

I was about twenty feet away from him when I heard him say, “You look like you might fit the description of who I seek., Are you Casey Merker?”

I stopped in my tracks.

“What do you want with Casey?” I asked nervously, while refusing to turn and look at him.

“She’s who I search for,” he explained impatiently.

“Why?” I continued, still not looking at him.

“Are you Casey?” he asked suspiciously. “I believe you are.”

“I didn’t say that,” I said briskly. “Why do you want her?”

“If you aren’t Casey, you know her,” he persisted.

“I didn’t say that either,” I said.

“Casey could be the name for either a boy or a girl, yet you asked if I knew her,” he goaded.

I said nothing.  He’d trapped me with my own stupidity. I hastened my step in hopes he’d fall behind and give up.

It didn’t happen.

He had to be one of the most annoying people on the planet.

“I really wish you’d leave me alone,” I grumbled.

“Tell me where I can find Casey Merker and I will,” he said flatly.

“Tell me why you want her and I might,” I said.

“It’s a private matter,” he said with hesitation.

“Well then, so is her whereabouts,” I blurted before I was even aware I’d said it.

What an absolute moronic thing to do. There was no way I could claim ignorance of Casey Merker now. I’d be stuck with this foul smelling, nasty looking character until I fessed up what I knew.

He shrugged his shoulders, stuck his hands in the pockets of the dust ridden, baggy jeans that hugged his slender hips and lowered his head as if he was forging through a storm. His body language alone told me all I needed to know. When he bluntly informed me that he was going to stick with me like glue until I told him where to find Casey, it came as no surprise.

We walked in silence for the next forty-five minutes.  True to his word, he hung close.

We were almost to the road that led to my home when I decided I had to say something to get rid of him.  The last thing I wanted was for him to know where I lived.  Besides the fact that my grandparents forbade strangers in our home, they’d be particularly unhappy if I happened to arrive with this unsavory looking character at my heels. What if he was a scout for Bartholomew? Even if he wasn’t one of Bartholomew’s men, he was clearly a nut case.

“Well,” I cleared my throat, “this is where I leave you.”

 “Maybe I didn’t make myself clear back there,” he said.

His arrogant tone filtered through a grin that bordered on mischievous as it displayed a row of perfectly formed and well cared for teeth. They looked an odd contrast to the rest of his appearance.

“Maybe I didn’t make myself clear,” I responded with equal arrogance and far more authority. “This is where I leave you.”

We locked eyes once again and that uncomfortable flutter deep within me returned. I quickly looked away, shuffling from foot to foot in a display of impatience.

He pulled an envelope from within his filthy, smelly overcoat and waved it in my direction.

“I’ve searched for Casey Merker for the better part of a month. I’m fed up, dirty, and exhausted. I was about to give up and return a failure when I stumbled upon you.  You at least know of her.  Can you please be decent enough to point me in her direction?” A long silence passed between us before he continued, “Without your help I may never find her.”  When I continued to remain silent he shrugged and in a tone so deep it resembled a growl added, “If you want to be the one to tell Casey Merker that her mother sent her a letter, but you wouldn’t help me get it to her, then so be it. Let it be on your head, not mine.”

If I hadn’t already been aware of his irritation, the way he stuffed the envelope back into the inside pocket of his trench coat and turned on his heels certainly made it clear. 

My mind reeled.  My mother was alive?  How could that be? I saw her die with my own eyes.  Had she survived and my grandparents whisked me away without realizing it?  Was that letter really from her or some imposter? The desire to know far outweighed the caution I knew I should always take with a stranger.

“I’m Casey Merker,” I bellowed as I stretched my hand out for the letter. “Give it to me.”

An angry snarl consumed his reddening face as he turned toward me and lifted his feet up, one by one to display the soles of his dust riddled boots.

“You made me walk all that way in these pathetic boots when you could have told me who you were from the start. What kind of person are you?” he asked.

The genuine distress on his face caused a tinge of regret within me. I shook it off quickly. I needed to keep my head about me and not succumb to whatever power this stranger possessed where I was concerned. That fluttering was just not normal.

“Show me the envelope,” I demanded.

He pulled it slowly from his inner pocket and held it out for me to see. My name was clearly written on it in a style of handwriting I knew all too well.

“My mother’s alive,” I gasped.

“That she is,” he said with a smile, “and she’s waiting for you to join her.”

“How can this be?” I mused. “I saw her die with my own eyes.”

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“My grandparents stood next to me,” I explained. “We all saw it.  She was shot in the chest at least ten times before she went down.  No one could survive that... no one.  They got me away from the chaos before Bartholomew could discover I was there too.”

“So, you saw her fall, but you never checked her body?” he asked incredulously.

“I was eight years old,” I scoffed, “and, like I said, she was peppered with bullets to the chest. Even at such a young age I knew she was dead.” 

“Yet, she wasn’t,” he mused. “Her parents should have…”

“Stop,” I cut his words off with a brisk command. “Don’t ever criticize my grandparents.   Leaving her body lying there in order to save me was one of the hardest things they ever had to do.”

He looked thoughtful for a moment and nodded.

“It probably was,” he said softly.

With my hand still outstretched I wiggled my fingers to indicate I wanted the envelope. 

“I can see the resemblance between you and your mother on more ways than one,” he said wryly.  He hesitated only briefly before handing the envelope to me. “I’ll be glad to be rid of it,” he said.  “The next time her majesty asks for volunteers I’ll be hiding in the back of the crowd. I can tell you that.”

“Her majesty,” I repeated his phrase, clearly confused.

“Your mother is the leader of our little society.  Somewhere over time she came to be known as majesty,” he volunteered. With a quick wink and a broad smile, he added, “That makes you our princess.”

My fingers trembled as I opened the letter while my mind tried to wrap around the wild story Geo was spinning.  None of this sounded plausible.  Yet there I stood, holding a letter written in the handwriting I knew as well as my own. It was the same handwriting that recorded days gone by in the pages of my mother’s journal. That journal was one of the few remaining things I possessed that belonged to her.  I read it almost daily. 

My eyes blurred as I eagerly consumed her message.  She wrote how she’d barely survived the gunshot wounds she suffered during the slaughter of concert goers by Bartholomew’s gang. Left for dead with the faintest of heartbeats, she was discovered by a band of renies and taken to their underground city. 

“Renies,” I mused aloud.  “What are renies?”

“That’s slang for renegades,” Geo offered.  “After the nuclear blast wiped out half the Eco system and the Order took over what was left of the lands, small groups of renegades banned together and went underground to escape their rule.”

“I knew about the groups.  My mother was part of one. I didn’t know they called themselves renies,” I said softly as I continued to read.

She went on to tell me about how the renies nurtured and cared for her during a tortuous and lengthy recovery. Once sufficiently healed, she immediately sought out my whereabouts. My grandparents prepared a cabin in one of the remotest and hardest hit parts of the country. They opted to endure its lonely desolation for my safety’s sake, should anything happen to her.  She knew of the cabin, but not its exact location. Not realizing she survived and would be looking for me, my grandparents did a thorough job of hiding our whereabouts. She wasn’t able to discover our exact location, but she did learn I was alive, well, and safely hidden away.  That was enough reassurance for her mind to be focused completely on the task before her. 

Confident that I was in good hands, she put all of her attention into repaying the tiny group of renies for their kindness. A former chemist for a pharmaceutical company and a master herbalist trained by my grandmother, she created ways to cultivate and nurture their food source and ecological surroundings. Word of the thriving underground community spread rapidly and soon renies from other underground groups found their way to their tiny village. It wasn’t long before that tiny underground village expanded into a rather large underground kingdom. Along with this growth came the need for order and a leader to enforce it. The vote to make her their sovereign leader was unanimous. 

The first few years propagating the new kingdom were fruitful and rewarding. She was kept busy from arising to retiring and the years flew by. Then one day she woke up and looked around at the beautiful world she’d helped create and realized that it meant nothing if she couldn’t share it with me. She begged me to return to her, with Geo as my escort.  She assured me Geo was more than capable of guiding and protecting me if the need arose.

I crumpled the letter in my hands until my knuckles were white. My mother was alive. She’d left me and my grandparents to struggle in this desolate hell for the last ten years while she nurtured and cared for perfect strangers. Now that she was done playing mama to them she wanted me back. What about my grandparents? She made no mention of wanting them with her. After all the love and nurturing she’d had from her parents right up until the day she was shot, this came as a genuine shock.  My blood was boiling and it wasn’t because it was about one-hundred degrees.  I felt like I was about to explode with rage.

Geo must have sensed my emotions because he backed up a considerable distance while silently studying me.

When I finally felt like I could talk again, I looked him squarely in the eye and said with a controlled tone that surprised me, “You delivered the letter. You can leave now.”

“I’m supposed to bring you back with me,” he said hesitantly.

“Well, that’s not happening,” I said, “so go.”

He looked at me long and hard and then gave a curt nod.

“If you change your mind, I’ll be camped up in that green for a few days,” he said as he pointed in the direction of a mountain in the distance. “I need a good meal, a refreshing wash, and a little rest before I start back.”

I studied the mountain from where we stood. There was a small visible patch of green that looked to be a clearing with vegetation.  Knowing the area like I did, it was a wise choice.  Much of the water was in these parts was still toxic, as was the soil; which was why the soles of his shoes were in the condition they were in.

I was lucky to have the benefit of my grandmother’s wisdom.  Without her concoctions, we would have mutated long ago.  Those little patches of green were the only safe havens in this land of destruction. I had no idea why they weren’t hit, but I was thankful when I did happen to stumble upon one, because it didn’t happen often.

As he walked away, he stopped and turned to me.

“You know, not all the world is as toxic as here,” he said before continuing on his way.

Yeah, some is worse, I thought.

I stood watching Geo until he disappeared over the knoll of the dirt road before heading in the direction of home. I’d calmed down enough to allow myself to think more clearly about the words my mother scribbled on the extremely thin parchment I still clutched.

It was another fifteen minutes before I felt the softness of the grass surrounding our homestead beneath my feet. I stopped to inspect the area. Our cabin was nestled between the two oak trees my grandfather planted almost immediately after our arrival. With the help of my grandmother, they grew at three times the normal rate they would have if left to nature. Their thick foliage caressed the slate roof that protected us from the unforgiving rays of the sun.  It made a peaceful and inviting view.

One hundred feet to the left of the cabin and about twenty feet to the right of my grandfather’s work shed was my grandmother’s herbal greenhouse with an attached vegetable garden. The neat rows of plants, that thrived in the soil she’d treated to make sure the earth’s toxins wouldn’t penetrate it, made a colorful canvas against the bleakness of our exterior world. I shook my head as I once again thought of how much the world could benefit from her wisdom and skills. I wished I knew what to do to convince her to venture out and share.

I smoothed the letter, folded it back up along its creases, and returned it to the envelope before tucking it beneath my shirt in the back waistband of my jeans.  The sharp edges of the envelope scratched at the small of my back like a knife, reminding me of its presence with every step I took.

My grandfather stepped out onto the porch sporting a wave and a broad grin. I smiled at the love he so clearly held for me. It felt in stark contrast to what I now felt for my newly resurrected mother. My hand flew to my back and touched the letter thoughtfully. Should I tell them their daughter was still alive?