LITMIR.BIZ

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trees and danger. He gave them a once-over, and nodded.

      “This way.”

      There was no conversation as they walked, accompanied by the early morning sounds of birds and other small animals. Maggie was good and kept her attention focused on where they were going, so not a single creature kept them company—at least, not obviously. The daylight grew brighter, and Elizabeth felt more and more aware of the fact that she had slept in her clothing. There were pine needles in her socks and down the back of her shirt, and her jacket was still damp from the dew, and she just felt unbelievably grimy and wrinkled. At this point, she would trade all the sleep she had managed last night, even with the good dreams, for ten minutes under a hot shower.

      Soon they heard the distant whoosh of cars passing by, and an airplane flying overhead, breaking into the peaceful silence of the reserve. Elizabeth felt her body tense at the reminders of civilization, and then the trees thinned, and they came to a high wire fence, blocking them in.

      It was twice the height of the fence they had gone over on the other side of the forest, and there were jagged curls of barbed wire on the top. How were they supposed to get over that?

      “This way,” the man said, gesturing to a small slice in the fence.

      Elizabeth wondered how their guide knew about it, or if he had made it himself, but thought better of asking.

      “They should repair that,” Maggie said primly, even as she was slipping through, her bag held low to fit through. Elizabeth went next, and then their guide followed, having to maneuver his broader frame carefully to avoid being snagged on the wires. The fence was at the top of a small grassy rise alongside a paved two-lane road, lined at intervals with telephone poles.

      “This is the county road,” he said. “There’s a town about a mile or so down that way.”

      “Thank you,’ Elizabeth said again, and suddenly remembered her manners. “I’m sorry, we never formally introduced ourselves. I’m Elizabeth. This is Margaret.” She didn’t give their last names, just in case.

      “Good luck” was all he said in return, and then turned and went back through the fence, and disappeared into the woods.

      “Wow,” Maggie said, watching him go with a disappointed look on her face. “I really liked him better as a unicorn.”

       Chapter 4

      While the girls were traveling south through the woods, they were the subject of a heated discussion back in the Community, where the Elders had gathered for an emergency meeting.

      “What do you mean, you’re not doing anything?” A man’s voice, high-pitched and showing annoyance, filled the meeting room, demanding an answer.

      “That is not what he said, Alan,” another man said, but his expression was one of annoyance, as well. “Ray, don’t you think…”

      “I share your concern, everyone.” The voice was smooth and practiced, without being too polished, and matched the man speaking. He was tall and solid, dressed, like the others, in jeans and shirt, both well-worn. Standing at the head of the long, wood-paneled room, his gaze met theirs evenly, squarely, and his shoulders were open even as his hands moved as he spoke. “Alan, Mark is correct, that was not what I said. Everyone, please believe me when I say that I too am concerned. Those poor girls, the past year has been so difficult for them, first losing their parents and then, well, poor Maggie just hasn’t been the same since then, has she?”

      The others in the room nodded, sobered by the reminder of those who were lost to the flu epidemic the year before. Every member of the Community had lost a loved one, it seemed, but some were harder struck. The survivors—younger, stronger children like Maggie—still bore evidence of their illness, in their lungs and their limbs.

      Ray nodded as well, his body language perfectly echoing their own sorrow. “And in times of stress, we often act out of character. Elizabeth should have come to us first, of course, but she is a sensible girl—” all of eleven years younger than he, but decades younger than most of the others in the room “—and she will take good care of her sister, I am sure of that. And that is why I am not convinced that we need to do anything, specifically, to bring them back, or otherwise interfere with their lives.

      “However, because it is… a world full of dangers, I’ve sent Jordan to find her, and keep an eye on them, make sure that they don’t get into too much trouble.”

      That seemed to satisfy most of his inquisitors, but one woman refused to be consoled.

      “But why did they leave? And to abandon everything, for Libby to just leave the bakery like that…” Judy sounded as though she was near to tears. “It’s so unlike her!”

      Ray leaned forward, catching her gaze and holding it like a snake charmer might his snake. “Oh, Judy, you know that sometimes we need a little distance, to understand what things close to us truly mean. It’s how we learn, how we grow.”

      Ray had a soothing voice and a calming conviction that seemed to melt worries away, without dismissing the fears as foolish or unworthy, and Judy was no exception. Her expression visibly smoothed out and calmed down, and she patted her husband’s arm as though he had been the one who was upset. “That’s true. We forget… we came to the Community as adults, but the girls were born here, and it’s all they’ve ever known. Even the Amish go away when they’re teenagers, to see the outside world before they make their final choice, and we can’t claim to be more reclusive than they are!”

      There was some muted laughter from the others in the room, seven total. His fellow Elders had come to him that morning, worried about the seeming disappearance of two of their younger members, so suddenly. Judy and her husband, Mark, were personal friends of the Sweets; he suspected that they had pushed the others into speaking up and forcing a meeting.

      Thankfully, he had received word of the girls’ departure before anyone else, and had been ready for the appearance of his fellow Elders and neighbors, an answer smooth on his tongue.

      “It was an impulsive move on their part, clearly, to not tell anyone, to simply up and leave. But their belongings are still here, they did not transfer the title to their house.” No need to tell anyone about the recipes and deed to the bakery his men had retrieved, before the new owners could discover it. “They will be back, I assure you.”

      “Yes, but…” Stephan, the newest member of the Elders, elected to fill Ray’s place when he was elevated, frowned in concern.

      “I have asked Jordan to watch over them until they do return,” Ray said, giving his final spin on the situation. Jordan was highly regarded in the Community; a seventh-grade math teacher, he had been born in the Community, which was important even to people who said it didn’t matter. Ray bit back the rush of anger he still felt over that, and smiled gently instead, feeling his mouth strain at the effort. “He has orders to clear their path and give them time to do whatever it is they felt the need to do—see old friends of their parents, perhaps, or visit Disney World, whatever it is that young girls do. And then he will make sure they come home safely.”

      In fact, Jordan was under orders to bring them home, period. No matter what means were needed. Ray had plans for the Community, plans that were years in the making, and that required little Ms. Maggie to be home, safe and under his control.

      She was the reason the Community existed, even if none of them realized it, yet.

      “I wish they’d told me,” another man said wistfully. “I’ve never been to Disney World, either. I’d have gone with them!”

      Ray smiled as the others laughed again, but his hand, held out of sight at his waist, clenched. Andrew, the speaker, had been one of the few to object to his selection as the Old Lady’s successor, had raised questions about someone not born in the Community leading it. Andrew and Sean Sweet, and their allies… There were too many people who questioned him.

      The vote had gone his way, and he

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