Eden (Eden Saga) Page 18

  “You look like hell,” Marco said. “That monster gave you quite the bruise, no?”

  “I’ll live,” she said. “Listen, we’re going to head to where the sign pointed and hopefully find these survivors. Do either of you know the area?”

  “That’s what we were just talking about,” Marco said.

  Santino shifted his weight as he looked over his maps. He wasn’t happy about something, but like usual, the soft-spoken truck driver kept to himself.

  “What do you think, Santino?” Alexandra asked. “Do you know where we’d end up if we followed the sign?”

  Santino adjusted his Texas Rangers cap and said, “I dunno. We go northeast to follow the sign. But, do we wanna go that way? Route 180 goes southeast to Panama and South America. Better to stay on 180, no?”

  “We’ll get back on Route 180, yes,” Alexandra said, “but I need to know where you think this northeast road will take us.”

  “I think,” Marco said as he glanced at the maps, “we’ll come out near the coast. Or, the old coast. Maybe where the big cruise ships from America used to make port?”

  Santino nodded. “Si, I think that too.”

  Something still bothered Santino and Alexandra wanted to know what that was. “Okay, Marco,” she said, “get everyone moving. We leave in thirty minutes.”

  Marco smiled and said, “Si, mi guapa flor.”

  She decided to let his flirtation slip and she turned to Santino. “Is everything okay?”

  “Si,” he said as he rolled his maps and tossed them into the cab of his truck.

  Alexandra followed and said, “You know you can talk to me, right? If something’s bothering you, I want to know about it.”

  Santino paused and turned to her. “You travel on mission importante, no?”

  She nodded.

  “Then I am a sinner for wanting something for me.”

  “Nonsense,” she said. “What do you want?”

  “To see mi hija – my daughter.”

  “Oh,” Alexandra said, “I didn’t know-”

  “I don’t wanna take you away from your mission.”

  Alexandra shook her head, “We were going in the same direction until now. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have taken your invaluable aid for granted.”

  Santino seemed ashamed. He wouldn’t even meet her eyes.

  “Listen,” she said, “where’s your daughter?

  “Brasilia.”

  “The capitol city of Brazil?”

  “Si.”

  Calling up the memory of the globe in her elementary school classroom again, Alexandra searched for Brasilia. Southern Brazil, past the Andes and Amazon Basin.

  “Okay,” she said, “that’s still quite a distance away.”

  “Si.”

  “A deal then?” Alexandra said. “After we finish with this errand, we’ll head straight for Brasilia. Sound good?”

  Santino nodded. For the first time, Alexandra noticed the lines under his eyes and at the corners of his mouth. He looked weary and defeated.

  “But this is your truck,” she said. “You can take it to Brasilia right now if you want. I wouldn’t blame you one bit.”

  “No,” Santino said, “you found gasoline and food… I stick with you.”

  Alexandra smiled. “Good. I’m not ready to say goodbye to you just yet. Thanks for all your help. I promise, you will see your daughter again.”

  The lines on his face lightened when he smiled. “Si,” he said as he hopped into his rig.

  Alexandra sensed someone behind her and she whirled on her heel.

  “A bit jumpy?” Koneh asked.

  “No, just… Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

  Koneh nodded and said, “Do you always go around making promises you aren’t likely to keep?”

  “Wha-?”

  “What are the chances this man’s daughter is alive?” Koneh said. “Or, for that matter, that he will survive the trip? Be careful, Alexandra, many things here are beyond your control.”

  She pushed past him and spat her words. “Thanks for reminding me of that.” How could Koneh seem so tantalizing to her and then turn cold a moment later? Was he trying to push her away?

  Camp was almost broken when Alexandra reached her spot by the fire. Like a woman leaving a cheating husband, she gathered her belongings.

  “Something wrong?” Father Callahan asked.

  After she stuffed the last of her things into her pack, she flicked her braid to her back and said, “Nothing. It’s just… Koneh pisses me off sometimes.”

  Father Callahan chuckled.

  Glaring, she said, “I don’t see why that is funny.”

  “Many apologies,” Father Callahan said as he ran his hand over his bald scalp. “You two remind me of a brother and sister I knew back in Mexico. They fought all the time too.”

  “Did the sister eventually kill her brother?” Alexandra asked.

  He chuckled again and shook his head. “No, no. After many years they learned that they, in fact, were not related and then they got married.”

  Alexandra froze. “That’s strange.”

  “You cannot control some things,” Father Callahan said. “Least of all, who you love.”

  This time, she laughed. “When I think of all the emotions I have towards Koneh, love isn’t on the list.”

  “I’m not saying anything, my dear. Merely observations… Observations.”

  “Well,” she said with a smile, “If I ever do marry, you’ll be the first to know.”

  “Oh?” he asked, “And why is that?

  “Because you are going to be the one reading from that Bible of yours.”

  With a bow, the priest said, “It would be my greatest honor.”

  Alexandra sighed. “Because you think I’m from Heaven?”

  Father Callahan turned serious and said, “No, my dear, because I look upon you as I would a daughter.”

  Her heart swelled. She never knew the love of a father, and now she realized what she missed. With tears in her eyes, she hugged her friend, her adopted father.

  Chapter 18

  Route 180 was their course into South America before they made their detour. The highway was built and extended as part of the South American oil rush of the early 21st century. Middle Eastern crude oil supplies tapered off and the hard-to-reach oil became a hot commodity. Only after all the infrastructure was built, and people moved their families and fortunes did the truth strike – there was very little oil to be found in the lower Americas.

  Leaving behind a wake of falsely promised labor and cleared rainforest, the wealthy oil-diggers abandoned the area. However, they also left behind a system of superhighways of which Alexandra and her group now took advantage.

  “I guess this is the coast,” Father Callahan said as he peered out the grimy windows of the cab.

  Though she couldn’t see too far, Alexandra marveled at the land’s steep falloff into what was once the ocean. Like in Tampico, the ocean was gone.

  “How are we going to survive this?” she asked nobody in particular.

  “It’s like this to the north, too,” Benjamin said.

  Koneh said, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”

  Father Callahan turned to Koneh and said, “Not that I doubt those words anymore… But, in the same breath we are promised no more death, suffering or pain.”

  Koneh turned to the priest and said, “Eden offers that promise.”

  Santino’s rig stopped and the headlights painted the dark landscape. Alexandra marveled at the absence of the ocean. The new landscape seemed alien to her.

  Moments later, Erzulie landed beside the rig and said, “The survivors are to the south. They take shelter in a ship.”

  “How many?” Koneh asked.

  “A half-dozen or more,” Erzulie said

  “What do you want to do?” Koneh asked as he turned to Alexandra.

  �
�The plan remains the same,” she said, “We’ll see if they need any help.”

  Koneh sighed. “Very well. Let’s go, Santino.”

  Santino turned the rig south and they rumbled along a broken road for a while. They passed by the ruined buildings of a deserted coastal city. Upturned earth surrounded the road as they followed it to the shelf and saw the steep drop-off into the former ocean. Then, the truck stopped and Alexandra’s eyes widened.

  Illuminated by the rig’s headlights, a beached cruise ship towered above the jagged landscape. Resting on its side against a long bank of sand, the cruise ship’s white hull contrasted against the darkness of the earth below and behind.

  Alexandra jumped from the cab and stepped to the edge of the small hill. Memories of her cruise from a few years prior popped into her head, but she never realized just how massive these vessels were. She gaped at the sight until Marco pulled his bike along side her.

  He whistled. “Never seen anything like that before.”

  “Dear God,” Father Callahan said as he gestured the sign of the cross from his head to his shoulders.

  For a few moments, nobody spoke. The vision of the mammoth cruise ship was too shocking.

  Tearing her eyes from the wreck, Alexandra turned towards Erzulie. “Stay in the sky but remain close. We don’t want to alarm these people.”

  Erzulie nodded and said, “As you command.”

  “Okay folks,” Alexandra said, “let’s take it slow.”

  Everyone piled back into their vehicles and the group started down the steep embankment towards the beached cruise ship. A ruined pier extended to their left, but with no water underneath. The pier looked like a stretch of giant sized train tracks on the ground. As they neared the ship, Alexandra noticed a few torches and small camp fires. A man waved his arms like he was signaling an airplane. He appeared to be American or maybe European.

  “Thank God!” the man said.

  Alexandra stepped from the cab and said, “I’m Alexandra Contreras. We were on Route 180 where we saw your sign.”

  The man wore an unusual assortment of clothes. A life jacket rested over his chest, but someone had sewn canvas sleeves to the arm holes and a makeshift canvas hood to the back. His dress pants appeared quite worn and dirty.

  “You’re the first people we’ve seen,” he said. “My name is Jason – Jason Nelson.”

  “Pleased to meet you, Jason, my name is Richard Callahan,” Father Callahan said as he stepped forward and shook the man’s hand. “How are you guys doing out here?”

  Jason glanced over his shoulder at the ship and said, “Not bad, considering we’ve been stranded here for over a month. Luckily, the ship was stocked with supplies and food.”

  “How many of you are there?” Marco asked.

  Jason looked at the ground and said, “Only eight of us are left. We were stuck on shore when the quake hit. Everyone was… Everyone was dead when we found the ship here.”

  “Mind if we share your campfire for the night?” Alexandra asked.

  “God, no!” Jason said. “Everyone will be thrilled.”

  The cruise ship towered over the group. Every window was dark, and much of the structure looked damaged. Alexandra felt uneasy standing so close to the massive structure, as it appeared ready to topple at any moment.

  “Here’s the rest of our little group,” Jason said as he led Alexandra to a gathering of tents and campfires. “There’s Justin, Nicole and Henry. Thomas is the teen at the grill cooking steaks. Francine is bundled up on that chaise over there. It’s been especially hard on her because of her age. Working the fire is Carlos, a local we met on shore. My wife, Holly, is in that large tent over there, but she’s sleeping. That’s everyone.”

  The group was mainly comprised of Americans. Francine was the only one above the age of fifty. Most of them wore the life jackets with canvas sleeves. Alexandra introduced her group and everyone exchanged pleasantries.

  “Please, you must let us cook you some food,” Jason said. “We have plenty and it’s going to spoil soon.”

  “I’m not going to argue with that,” Alexandra said.

  Jason led them to some white lounge chairs and said, “Enjoy! I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  Alexandra sank into the plush cushion. “I could sleep here.”

  Thomas and Justin, the two teen-age American boys, brought a plate of steak to Alexandra. “Here you go,” Justin said with a smile.

  “Thank you,” she said as she took the plate, removed a slab of meat and then handed the plate to Father Callahan.

  Thomas sat down next to Alexandra with his own plate of food. Tall and lanky, Thomas reminded her of the Goth kids who plagued the malls in San Antonio. His nose and ears were pierced and his hair was dyed black. Thomas said, “So, we were wondering, how old are you?”

  Surprised by the question, Alexandra blinked and said, “Excuse me?”

  Justin, the other boy, sat down on the other side of her. His bleached hair spiked in every direction and he was a tad heavier than most teenagers. Justin stared at Alexandra’s chest and said, “Well, Tommy thought you looked kinda old. But, then I said ‘yeah, but she’s also hot.’ So, how old are you?”

  “Old?” she asked. “You think I look old?”

  “Old to teenage eyes, maybe,” Marco said as he sat across from them. “Not so old to wiser eyes.”

  “Is this your boyfriend?” Justin asked, pointing his fork at Marco.

  Alexandra felt like she was in high school again.

  “Are these two scabs bothering you?” the teen girl said as she approached.

  “Nicole, right?” Alexandra asked.

  “That’s me,” Nicole said. “Why don’t you two bug off. Alexandra is way outta your league.”

  “We were just talkin’.” Thomas said as the two boys rose and scurried back to their own campfire.

  “May I join you?” Nicole asked. Freckle-faced and bright-eyed, the girl bounced from place to place with a spring in her step. Alexandra thought her plain featured, but then chided herself for reverting back to her old self. Petty observations and criticisms should have been a thing of her past and Alexandra smiled to hide her quick moment of shame.

  “Of course you may join us,” Marco said before Alexandra could respond. “And where are you from, my dear?”

  “Connecticut,” the girl said.

  “America, then?”

  “Born and raised,” Nicole said.

  “So, what happened to you guys?” Alexandra asked.

  Nicole lowered her eyes. “It was awful. Thomas, Justin, me and some friends from our school were on a cruise. We went ashore to shop when the earthquake hit. People were running and screaming. When it stopped, I found Justin and Thomas and then we met up with Jason, his wife Holly and Henry the doctor. We recognized them from the ship and we all made our way back here. Oh, and Carlos from the town followed us too because he had nowhere else to go.”

  Marco shook his head. “That must have been awful for you, so young.” He placed his hand on the girl’s shoulder.

  Alexandra’s skin crawled at the sight of Marco’s advances. Nicole was far too young and vulnerable.

  Tears gathered under Nicole’s eyes. “Yeah, I don’t even know if I’ll ever make it home to see my parents.”

  “Shhh,” Marco said as he gathered the girl in his arms.

  Nicole allowed Marco to soothe her. Then, she wiped the tears from her freckles and smiled. “You are all so nice. I hope you stay.”

  “We’re here to help,” Marco said.

  After Nicole finished her food, she smiled and said, “Well, I need to go check on Francine. I’m kinda taking care of her.”

  “Sure, my dear,” Marco said. “Remember, anything you need.”

  “Thanks,” Nicole said as she jogged away.

  Alexandra glared at Marco and allowed a few moments to pass. Then she asked, “Were you hitting on her?”

  He feigned a wound to his chest. “Me? You are mistake
n, mi amor.” He rose to his feet. “My heart belongs to another.” After a wink, he walked back to the rig to talk with Santino.

  Alexandra wasn’t comfortable with this much attention from that man. Sure, Marco was handsome enough, perhaps intelligent enough, but something about him unsettled her nerves. At first, she believed his invasion of privacy at the military base was the cause for her discomfort but she wasn’t sure of that anymore. Something troubled her mind each time she saw or spoke with him.

  “I see you’ve met some of the younger ones?” Father Callahan said, snapping Alexandra from her thoughts.

  She turned and smiled. “Grab a seat,” she said. “I’m Ms. Popularity today.”

  He chuckled. “You seem to attract attention wherever you go.”

  “No sh… No kidding.”

  Father Callahan waved his hand and said, “No need to sanitize your language around me. I’ve heard it all.”

  “Father?” she said as she reclined in her new favorite chair.

  “Please, Alexandra, call me Richard.”

  She paused for a few moments and stared at the apocalyptic sky. Then, she turned her head to Father Callahan and said, “My mother used to call me Lex. It was the nickname she used when I was young. I guess it took too much effort to spout my entire name whenever I was naughty – which was often.” Alexandra smiled. “I would very much like it if you called me Lex as well.”

  “Very well,” he said. “What can I do for you, Lex?”

  “I was wondering, why don’t you lead us in prayer at mealtimes and other times?”

  He laughed. “With this bunch?”

  “No, I’m serious. I think I’d very much like that.”

  “I would be more than happy to lead everyone in prayer at mealtimes,” Father Callahan said. “However, I guess I come from a different school of thought when it comes to prayer.”

  Alexandra raised an eyebrow. “What school is that?”

  “I believe that prayer is mostly listening and very little talking.”

  “Listening, huh?”

  “Listening,” he said. “Throughout my life, I have watched and listened as other people prayed. Usually, they prayed for things for themselves or people they knew, like God was some sort of cosmic Santa Claus out to bring us all presents of joy, healing or prosperity.”