Zoe’s Tale PART II Chapter Sixteen

Were casting for Joe Loong, Jane said, to the assembled search team, at the edge of the timber by Joes house. tonic, who was standing with her and Savitri, was letting her run the show. Hes been missing for the last devil days. Therese Arlien, his companion, places me that he was excited ab turn out(a) the impart of the fanties to the bowl and told her he was thought of tense uping to get close to one of the herds. Were working under the confidence thats what he did, and then either got lost, or perhaps got injured by one of the animals.Jane motioned at the line of trees. Were pass to search the ara in teams of four, circleing out in a line from here. E actu everyyone in a host stays in vocalization contact with the group members on either side e genuinely one at the left or responsibility of a group also stays in percentage contact with your opposite number from the next group all over. C on the whole to from each one other every couple of minutes. Well do this slow and careful I dont want any of us adding to the number of the lost, understand? If you lose voice contact with the other members of your group, stop and stay where you are, and let your group members bushel contact. If the person next to you doesnt respond when you c in all, stop and alert those you are in contact with. Again, lets non lose anyone else, especially when were trying to find Joe. Now, you all k now who we are looking for?There were general nods most of the carbon and fifty or so folks whod showed up to look for Loong were friends of his. I personally had only the vaguest of ideas of what he looked the likes of, scarcely I was dismission on the idea that if someone came running toward us, waving his hands and saying, Thank matinee idol you engraft me, it was likely to be him. And joining the search party was get me a day out of school. You cant argue with that.All right, then, ma said. Lets orchestrate into teams. People started grouping together in fours I turned to Gretchen and forecast she and I would be a team with hickory tree and Dickory.Zoe, Mom said. Youre with me. assume hickory and Dickory.Can Gretchen lift with us? I asked.No, Jane said. Too large. Sorry, Gretchen.Its all right, Gretchen said to Mom, and then turned gage to me. Try to survive without me, she said.Stop, I said. Its non like were dating. She grinned and wandered impinge on to join a nonher group.After several(prenominal) minutes three dozen groups of four were spread out over more than half a klick of tree line. Jane gave the signal and we started in. wherefore came the boring three hours of stomping through the woodland, slowly, searching for signs that Joe Loong had wandered in this direction, calling out to each other every few minutes. I found no manoeuvrection, Mom to my left found nonhing, hickory tree to my right found nonhing, and Dickory to its right found nonhing either. Not to be hope littlely shallow virtually it, but I thought it wo uld be at least a microscopic more interesting than it was. atomic number 18 we going to get word a distribute any date soon? I asked Jane, go up to her when she wandered into visual range.Youre tired? she said. I would bet that subsequently all the training you do, a walk in the woods would be an easy thing.I paused at this comment I didnt make any secret of my training with Hickory and Dickory it would be weighty to hide, given how some(prenominal) time I gave to it but its not something that the deuce of us talkinged somewhat much. Its not a stamina issue, I said. Its a boredom issue. Ive been scanning the forest floor for three hours. Im getting a little punchy.Jane nodded. Well take a rest soon. If we dont find something in this area in the next hour, Ill regather people on the other side of Joes homestead and try over thither, she said.You dont mind me doing what I do with Hickory and Dickory, do you? I asked. Its not like I talk close it to you much. either with you or Dad.It worried us the first couple of weeks, when you came in cover with bruises and then went to sleep without actually saying hello to us, Jane said. She kept walking and scanning as she talked. And I was sorry it broke up your association with Enzo. But youre old enough now to make your suffer picks about what you want to do with your time, and we both decided that we werent going to breathe piling your neck about it.I was about to say, Well, it wasnt entirely my ingest choice to do this, but Jane kept talking. Beside that, we think its new, she said. I dont drive in when well be found, but I think we allow for be. I can take care of myself earth-closet can take care of himself. We were soldiers. Were happy to fulfill that youre learning to take care of yourself, too. When it comes down to it, it might be the thing that makes a difference.I stopped walking. Well, that was a de huging thing to say, I said.Jane stopped and came back to me. I didnt mean it that way , she said.You sightly said I might be alone at the end of all this, I said. That each of us leave behind invite to take care of ourselves. Thats not exactly a happy thought, you know.I didnt mean it that way, Jane said. She reached over and touched(p) the jade elephant pendant she had given me years ago. John and I will never leave you, Zoe. Never abandon you. You take aim to know that. Its a promise we made to you. What I am saying is that we will need each other. Knowing how to take care of ourselves means we are violate commensurate to help each other. It means that you will be able to help us. Think about that, Zoe. Everything might come down to what you are able to do. For us. And for the colony. Thats what Im saying.I doubt its going to come to that, I said.Well, I doubt it too, Jane said. Or at least I hope it doesnt come to that.Thanks, I said, wryly.You know what I mean, Mom said.I do, I said. I think its funny how bluntly you put it.To the left of us there was a fa int scream. Jane swiveled in its direction and then turned back to face me her expression left very little doubt that any(prenominal) mammy-daughter bonding moment wed been having was at a very abrupt end. bond here, she said. Send word down the line to halt. Hickory, come with me. The two of them sped onward in the direction of the scream quietly at what seemed like an almost impossible high speed I was suddenly reminded that, yes, in point, my mom was a veteran warrior. Theres a thought for you. It was save now I finally had the tools to real appreciate it.Several minutes later Hickory returned to us, clicked something to Dickory in their native tongue as he passed, and looked at me. police lieutenant Sagan says that you are to return to the colony with Dickory, Hickory said.Why? I asked. invite they found Joe?They set about, Hickory said.Is he all right? I asked.He is dead, Hickory said. And Lieutenant Sagan believes there is reason to worry that the search parties white thorn be in danger if they stay out here much longer.Why? I asked. Because of the fanties? Was he trampled or something?Hickory looked at me levelly. Zoe, you do not need me to remind you of your last trip into the forest and what followed you then.I went very cold. No, I said.Whatever they are, they appear to follow the fantie herds as they migrate, Hickory said. They have followed those herds back here. And it appears that they found Joseph Loong in the woods.Oh my God, I said. I have to tell Jane.I assure you, she has figured it out, Hickory said. And I am to find Major Perry now, so he will know presently. This is macrocosm taken care of. The lieutenant asks for you to return to Croatoan. As do I. Dickory will accompany you. Go now. And I advise silence until your parents speak of this publicly. Hickory strode off into the distance. I watched it go, and then headed home, ready, Dickory matching my strides, both of us base quietly, as we had practiced so many times.The fact th at Joe Loong was dead spread fast in the colony. Rumors of how he died spread even faster. Gretchen and I sit in front of Croatoans community center and watched a revolving cast of rumormongers tenderise up their takes.Jun Lee and Evan Black were the first to talk they had been part of the group that had found Loongs body. They were enjoying their moment in the spotlight as they told everyone who would listen about how they found Loong, and how he had been attacked, and how whatever had attacked him had eaten part of him. Some people speculated that a pack of yotes, the local carnivores, had cornered Joe Loong and brought him down, but Jun and Evan laughed at that. Wed all seen the yotes they were the coat of small dogs and ran from the colonists whenever they saw them (and for good reason, since the colonists had taken to shooting at them for bothering the livestock). No yote, or even a pack of yotes, they said, could have make to Joe what theyd seen had been done to him.Short ly by and by these gory tidbits had gotten around, the entire colony council met in Croatoans medical bay, where Loongs body had been taken. The fact that the government was being pulled into it made people venture it might actually have been murder (the fact that the government in this case was just twelve people who spent most of their time hoeing rows like everyone else didnt matter). Loong had been seeing a woman whod recently dumped her husband, so now the husband was a prime suspect maybe hed followed Loong into the woods, killed him, and then yotes had at him.This scheme made Jun and Evan unhappy their version with a mysterious predatory animal was much more sexy but everyone else seemed to like it better. The inconvenient fact that the presumed murderer in this case had already been in Janes custody on a different charge and couldnt possibly have done the turn seemed to escape most peoples notice.Gretchen and I knew the murder rumor had nothing to it, and that Jun and Evans theory was closer to reality than not, but we kept our mouths shut. Adding what we knew wouldnt make anyone feel less paranoid at the moment.I know what it is, Magdy said, to a bunch of masculine friends.I nudged Gretchen with an elbow and motioned with my head at Magdy. She rolled her eyes and very loudly called him over before he could say anything else. Yes? he said.Are you stupid? Gretchen asked.See, this is what I miss about you, Gretchen, Magdy said. Your charm.Just like what I miss about you is your brains, Gretchen said. What were you about to say to your little group of friends, I wonder?I was going to tell them about what happened when we followed the fanties, Magdy said.Because you think it would be smart at the moment to give people another reason to panic, Gretchen said.No ones panicking, Magdy said.Not yet, I said. But if you start telling that story, youre not going to help things, Magdy.I think people should know what were up against, Magdy said.We dont know what were up against, I said. We never actually saw anything. Youre just going to be adding to the rumors. Let my parents and Gretchens dad and the rest of the council do their jobs right now and figure out whats actually going on and what to tell people without you making their job harder.Ill take that under advisement, Zoe, Magdy said, and turned to go back to his pals.Fine, Gretchen said. Take this under advisement, too You tell your pals there about what followed us out there in the woods, and Ill tell them the part where you end up eating dirt because Hickory dropped you to the ground after you panicky and took a shot at him.A really lousy shot, I said. One where you almost blew off your own toe.Good point, Gretchen said. Well have fun telling that part.Magdy narrowed his eyes at both of us and stomped off toward his pals without another word.Think itll work? I asked.Of course itll work, Gretchen said. Magdys ego is the size of a planet. The amount of time and effort he puts i nto doing things to make himself look good is astounding. Hes not going to let us mess with that.As if on cue, Magdy glanced over at Gretchen. She waved and smiled. Magdy surreptitiously flipped her off and started talking to his friends. See, Gretchen said. Hes not that hard to understand.You liked him once, I reminded her.I still like him, Gretchen said. Hes very cute, you know. And funny. He just needs to pull his head out of a certain part of his anatomy. Maybe in another year hell be tolerable.Or two, I said.Im optimistic, Gretchen said. Anyway, thats one rumor squashed for now.Its not really a rumor, I said. We really were followed that night. Hickory said so.I know, Gretchen said. And its going to come out sooner or later. Id just rather not have it involve us. My dad still doesnt know I did all that sneaking out, and hes the sort of guy that believes in retroactive punishment.So youre not really worried about avoiding panic, I said. Youre just covering your own tail.Guilty, Gretchen said. But avoiding panic is how Im rationalizing it.But as it happens, we didnt avoid panic for long.Paulo Gutierrez was a member of the colonial council, and it was there he found out that Joe Loong had not only been killed, but that hed been murdered and not by a compassionate being. There really was something else out there. Something smart enough to make spears and knives. Something smart enough to turn poor Joe Loong into food.The council members had been assigned by my parents not to talk about this fact yet, in order to avoid a panic. Paulo Gutierrez do by them. Or, actually, defied them.They told me it was covered by something called the State Secrets Act, and that I couldnt tell you about it, Gutierrez told a group that surrounded him and a few other men, all carrying rifles. I say to hell with that. Theres something thats out there right now, killing us. They have weapons. They say they follow the fantie herds, but I think they could have just been in the wood s all this time, sizing us up, so they would know how to hunt us. They hunted Joe Loong. Hunted him and killed him. Me and the boys here are planning to return the favor. And then Gutierrez and his hunt club party tromped off in the direction of the woods.Gutierrezs settlement and news of his hunting party raced through the colony. I heard about it as kids came running up to the community center with all the up-to-the-minute by that time Gutierrez and his crew had already been in the woods for a while. I went to tell my parents, but John and Jane were already off to take up back the hunting party. The two of them were former military I didnt think they would have any trouble bringing them back.But I was wrong. John and Jane found the hunting party, but before they could drag them back, the creatures in the woods ambushed them all. Gutierrez and all his men were killed in the attack. Jane was stabbed in the gut. John chased after the fleeing creatures and caught up with them at t he tree line, where they attacked another colonist at his homestead. That colonist was Hiram Yoder, one of the Mennonites who helped save the colony by training the rest of us how to plant and farm without the help of computerized machinery. He was a pacifist and didnt try to fight the creatures. They killed him anyway.In the space of a couple of hours, six colonists were dead, and we intimate that we werent alone on Roanoke and what was here with us was getting used to hunting us.But I was more worried about my mom.You cant see her yet, Dad said to me. Dr. Tsao is working on her right now.Is she going to be O.K.? I asked.Shell be okay, Dad said. She said it was not as no-good as it looked.How bad did it look? I asked him.It looked bad, Dad said, and then realized that honesty wasnt really what I was looking for at the moment. But, look, she ran after those things after shed been wounded. If she had been really injured, she wouldnt have been able to do that, right? Your mom kno ws her own body. I think shell be fine. And anyway, shes being worked on right now. I wouldnt be at all surprised if shes walking around like nothing happened by this time tomorrow.You dont have to lie to me, I said, although per the antecedent comment he was actually telling me what I wanted to hear.Im not lying, Dad said. Dr. Tsao is excellent at what she does. And your mom is a very fast healer these days.Are you okay? I asked.Ive had better days, he said, and something flat tire and tired in his voice made me decide not to press the matter any further. I gave him a hug and told him I was going to visit Gretchen and would be over there for a while, in order to stay out of his hair.Night was falling as I stepped out of our bungalow. I looked out toward Croatoans gate and saw colonists streaming in from their homesteads no one, it seemed, wanted to spend the night outside the walls of the colony village. I didnt unholy them one bit.I turned to head to Gretchens and was mildly su rprised to see her striding up under full steam. We have a problem, she said to me.What is it? I said.Our idiot friend Magdy has taken a group of his friends into the forest, Gretchen said.Oh, God, I said. disunite me Enzo isnt with him.Of course Enzos with him, Gretchen said. Enzos always with him. Trying to talk sense to him even as hes following him right off a cliff.