The Escape: Chapter Nine: The Trees

We made it about 100 yards before I stumbled. I fell to my knees and tried to hold in the shout that wanted to escape. The bag on my back slipped and landed in the dirt. Alaina spun around and put JJ on his feet. 

“James, we need to do something about that wound,” she said. 

I set down the antique rifle to get to the injury. Alaina grimaced when I took off my shirt. Blood dripped out of a small hole in a somewhat steady stream from just above my left collarbone. Militia training resulted in many injuries, but I had never been shot before. Can’t say I enjoyed it much. 

“Daddy,” JJ said from the a few feet away, “you’re hurt.” 

“It’s fine. We’re going to bandage it and it will be okay.” 

“Why did they shoot you?” 

I glanced at Alaina, who dug through the bags for our emergency supplies. We had briefly discussed how to explain the militia would hunt us, but we did not want to scare the boy. 

“Some people are mad we’re leaving. But we’re going to do everything we can to stay safe.” Alaina pressed a cloth onto the wound and wrapped it tight. “Remember we’re doing this to protect your mother. That’s the most important thing.” 

JJ didn’t look convinced, and he watched every movement with interest. The pressure of the wrap intensified, but was probably better than bleeding out. Blood coated Alaina’s hands. She tried to wipe it off, but that did not work well. The last thing I wanted was to walk through a forest while covered in blood. I put my shirt back on and stood, holding Alaina’s hand to steady myself. 

“We should just go back,” said JJ. His eyes darted around and his fingers flexed by his sides. “Say sorry and everything will be normal.” 

JJ did not know the General like I knew him. I kept my son as far from the man as possible. It kept him safe, but it also meant JJ didn’t know about the danger. As far as he was concerned, the General was a decent if not stern man. He didn’t remember the incident that led to us initially planning to leave. Alaina stuffed everything back into the bags. “That’s not how that works. As soon as we left, we couldn’t go back.” 

Patting JJ’s head, I slung my bag back onto my back. “We have to keep going. More people might be looking for us.” 

“But what if they hurt you again?” he asked. 

“I’ll be fine. We just need to hurry out of the forest.” 

I could tell JJ wanted to cry, but he held it in. He did rub his fist into his eyes. 

Continuing, I couldn’t help but be extremely aware of everything around us. Every rustle of leaves seemed threatening. JJ walked next to Alaina, both in front of me. Any pursuit would attack from behind at this point. 

I wondered what Hunter was thinking when he fired. He’s the brother I was closest to, but he did not have the benefit of years of covert studying. All he knew was the colony was the safest place in the world, and the three leaders had the best of intentions. He also didn’t know everything about our father. 

A lifetime of training—what Mr. Turner called indoctrination—led to Hunter’s decision. ­­­­­He had to decide between loyalty to me and fear of our father. I couldn’t fault him for his choice, despite how painful it was to see him in that moment. 

The sun was close to rising. The colors around us were crisper and birdsong filled the air. 

Then the screeching. 

It was barely noticeable at first, but built into an overwhelming sound. The hellbugs were waking. They started early in the morning and were most active during the warmth of the afternoon. JJ covered his ears. Over several minutes, the sound faded into the background, present but tolerable. Sometimes I wondered why Noah saved certain creatures on the Ark. 

“Why does the Preacher say aliens are bad, but we’re going to go see them?” JJ asked. 

“Nobody in the colony has really seen an alien,” I said. “They’ve never attacked, and we’ve never seen any threat from them. The Preacher is afraid of them because they’re different. You remember Mr. Turner?” 

“Yes.” JJ probably mostly remembered us talking about the man, as he’d been about three when Turner died.

“He told me about aliens after I saw the one in the forest. He said many of them are friendly.” 

“But he never saw one. And you killed one.” 

“I did. But I was young and scared. We don’t know for sure what it’s going to be like out there, but I’m confident we will be safe.” 

My words pacified JJ for the moment, but confident was a stretch. I was more like hopeful. Mr. Turner never told me how he knew so much, or where he got his contraband documents. I had guesses, of course, but it was the one thing he was unwilling to tell me. After his death, I went through a period where I questioned if anything he said was true. I almost burned everything he left for me, but Alaina convinced me that would be a terrible decision.

The sun finally made it over the vine-covered trees and through the thinning canopy. Beneath us, the underbrush thinned as well, which no small relief. We were able to speed up a little. 

“Are we almost out of here?” Alaina asked. 

“I don’t think so. It’s hard to tell how close we are. I could climb a tree to see if I can get an idea of the distance.” 

“You want to climb one of these trees? They’re massive. And you’re injured.“

JJ hopped, grinning just a little. “I bet you could see all the way to Egypt!” 

Wouldn’t that be interesting. 

“We need to know where we’re going,” I said to Alaina. “I’ll be fine.”

I shed my baggage. I had not climbed a tree in many years, but I managed to shimmy up. It was incredibly painful, but I couldn’t let them know that. Somehow the tree seemed 400 feet tall, but it was probably only twenty. 

Birds launched off the branches, making their frustration known with sharp calls. Once I reached the highest I could go, I peeked over the other trees. Everything was trees. Several hundreds yards away, it seemed like there was a clearing, but more forest beyond that. I preferred walking in the trees. Open space would make it easier to track and attack us. 

Down proved harder than up. Rough bark scraped my hands and forearms, more of an irritation than anything. 

Back on the ground, I wiped my hands on my pants and looked around. “I can’t see the end of the forest. There’s a clearing up there, I think.” Her shoulders slumped for the briefest moment. I patted her arm, wishing I could do more. 

“Wow!” 

Alaina and I turned at JJ’s voice. 

I thought my encounter with the alien was the scariest thing I would ever see in my life. 

Then I saw my son walking toward a bear. 

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