The Escape: Chapter Seven: The Moment

Between restless tossing in bed and reading the notes in the Moore Bible, I don't think I slept that last night in our home. Four hours before sunrise, I rolled from bed and woke Alaina, who had slept poorly as well.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Not at all. Let's go."

I went to collect our gear from the closet while she woke JJ.
Alaina and I would each carry a bag and a rifle. JJ wouldn't be able to keep up, so we would trade off holding him.

The boy trudged down the stairs, but his eyes widened when he saw me and the rifles. "Are we going hunting?" he asked, immediately bright-eyed.

"No. We're going on a trip."

"Where?"

"It's a surprise. Are you ready to go?"

"Yes, sir." He had on his denim pants and rugged leather boots, his favorite pair passed down from Ryder. No longer energized by the thought of hunting, his eyes drooped and he yawned. Good. Perhaps he would sleep across the border.

Alaina's wide eyes darted here and there, but she stayed calm while she visually inspected the gathered bags.

I hoisted a duffel onto my back. Alaina gathered the food she had prepared for our journey and stuffed it in her bag. JJ’s eyebrows were drawn close together, but he let his mother pick him up.

"Okay," she said. "Let's go. You can go to sleep, JJ."

"Are we visiting another town? Galilee? Bethany? Bethlehem?"

I patted his head. "You'll see when we get there."

After years of planning, the moment settled on us. Alaina’s eyes met mine. Had we thought of everything? Considered every angle? Was leaving the best possible choice? It wasn’t the first time I had agonized over my choices about my family, but it felt like the biggest.

Alaina tapped the light. We stood in the dark for a moment, in the home we shared all our marriage, and considered what we were about to do. If we stayed, I knew exactly how my life would go. I would take over as Grand General, inherit my father’s home and wealth, and have all the power I could dream of. JJ would join the militia in a few years, and train to inherit the Grand General title. I would be a grandfather by age 33, and the cycle would continue.

If we left, I had no idea what could happen. But there was a chance, hopefully a good chance, for something better.

Taking a deep breath, I led them out of the house and to the road. The sliver of moon did not provide a lot of light, which worked in our favor. Few people would be out, except Virtue Squads. Being out with the entire family and packed bags would give them enough reason to accuse us of trying to flee.

JJ fell asleep by the end of the road, where we turned off toward the trees. It was a warm and humid night, but I don’t think the sweat soaking my shirt was from the heat.

Entering the forest was a small relief; the trees shielded us from the gaze of neighbors who would turn us in faster than a heartbeat. The first ten yards were cleared of underbrush, but as we continued, the forest floor thickened with flora.

The moonlight faded as the canopy above blocked our view of the sky. Damp leaves brushed our arms, compounding the moist air.

"How far is it?"

All my maps of outside the colony were, understandably, incomplete. Despite my planning, I wasn't certain where we were going to end up. No one in the colony knew much about the geography of Other Side, even Mr. Turner. We didn’t even know how far the forest extended beyond the border. In training, Border Patrol often went beyond the gates for various exercises. I spent three weeks living on my own about a mile outside the colony right before my fourteenth birthday.

Something told me the forest stretched much further than a mile.

"Probably not too far."

We planned to get as far away as we could before we tried to interact with anyone, just in case.

A noise startled both of us and JJ stirred. "What was that?" asked Alaina.

"Sounded like an owl."

"I hope that's the worst thing that happens to us."

"It won’t be.”

Alaina looked at me over JJ's head. "Thanks for those encouraging words."

"Just be ready. This is going to be hard, but worth it." Entirely possible it would be worth it. Mr. Turner spent time toward the end of his life pondering what life on the Other Side was like. He took an optimist’s view, spending hours talking about things like food and art and music.

"Distract me. What was in the Bible?"

"The handwritten notes of Adam Moore."

Alaina glanced at me before she went around thick underbrush. "What?"

"It was his personal Bible. He added notes for his son Isaiah."

"What did they say?"

"It was his plans for the colony. Very detailed.”

“Anything else?”

I hesitated for a moment. There was a log in our way and I steadied Alaina as we crossed it. JJ didn’t stir.

“The Bible... is different.”

“What does that mean?”

“About three generations in, they rewrote the Bible. From what I read, it’s similar, but they made changes to support the laws they wanted.”

Something scurried nearby. Alaina jerked away. The dim light from the moon barely filtered through the canopy. We needed to be as far away as possible by daybreak. If everything went well, we had three hours before anyone missed us.

“They changed the Bible?” Alaina sounded as confused as I felt.

“Once we’re safe, we’ll read it together.”

She paused. Of course that would make her uncomfortable. In New Covenant, men and women had different Bible versions, and reading the other version was a crime. Even as we planned to leave forever, we had not ventured to read each other’s version.

“Okay,” she said as she continued. “How long to the border?”

There were no real landmarks in the trees. Alone, I could walk to the border in well under an hour, but I wasn’t sure how long it would take with Alaina, JJ, and baggage.

“Probably another hour.”

Something nearby smelled like death. Probably a rat, but maybe something bigger. We went wide to avoid it, but JJ woke.

“Gross,” he said, wrinkling his nose. A moment later, he said, “Where are we?”

Alaina patted his back. “On a trip, honey.”

His face tightened. “A trip where? Why are we in the forest?” He tried to wiggle out of Alaina’s arms, making a sound of frustration when she held tight. She had spent time walking around the house holding a heavy duffel bag preparing for the journey. As a woman, she had limited options for strength training, but she got creative.

“Stay where you are,” I said. “We’re on an important trip. It’s a surprise. Go back to sleep.”

“But—”

“Sleep.”

He quieted. Despite that, I could see his questions on his face. Little did he know, I didn't have all the answers.

I just needed to get us beyond the border before anyone realized we were missing.

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