The Hero (Thunder Point #3)(13)

“Yes, sure.”

“She asked about you, asked if you was still around. I told her you liked it here, that you were talking about looking for work. She said you should come to the new doctor’s open house this weekend—everyone will be there. You can visit a little bit, ask around if anyone is hiring or looking for help. And you can get a feel for if anyone seems to recognize you—you’re going to have to step out of hiding if you really do want work.”

“I know,” she said. “And that’s why I left The Fellowship—I wanted to live in the world again. I wanted to read everything, hear everything, see everything. I know the world is hard and scary, I know. But, Rawley, prison is scary, too—even if it’s a fine, bountiful prison. I was a teaching assistant in an elementary school for a year—the teacher asked the eight-year-olds, ‘Would you rather be on a deserted island alone or with someone you hate?’ And one little boy answered, ‘With someone I hate so I’d have something to eat.’ We laughed so hard. But that’s what a pure, controlled, perfectly constructed and protected commune can be like. Everything is thought through, down to every chore, every meal, the schedules down to the minute, even what we wore so there’d be no competing or envy. Everything except what people feel. It’s a deserted island stocked with your favorite foods, cozy shelters, protection and comfort. And the inhabitants eventually eat each other.”

Rawley just stared at her for a long moment while Mercy scribbled on her page. Finally he said, “I gotta ask. If someone recognizes you, are you in danger?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know for sure. Sometimes people left and it wasn’t given any notice, like everyone just looked the other way. Sometimes they left for good, but others would stay away for a few days and then return. I didn’t leave with permission. I was told I could not take my daughter away. But she’s my daughter.”

Rawley thought about this for a moment, then he said, “Hmm. So, you want to try the doc’s open house on Saturday?”

Again the shrug. “I have to do something. Right?”

“Devon, if you need to get farther away, like way far away, I’ll scrape up some money for a bus ticket.”

“I’m not sure what I should do. But I ask myself—why would they look for me here? Why would they look for me at all? They’re very busy—there are the gardens just starting to yield summer produce, there’s stock, there are children to tend. And they don’t like spending time on the outside. Jacob believes he’s being spied on by the government and by law enforcement, because they want his money and his property. I don’t know how true it is but that doesn’t matter—it’s what he thinks.”

“Jacob?” Rawley repeated.

“The founder. The leader of The Fellowship.” And then she gazed briefly toward Mercy.

Rawley seemed to understand at once. “Ah,” he said. “Well, you look different, Devon. You don’t stand out so much. You can be my second cousin, twice removed, takin’ refuge from a bad relationship, looking for work.”

“Think that would work?” she asked.

“I ain’t gonna kid you, chickadee—if someone from that camp of yours wanders into town and looks you square in the face, they’ll know you. But if one of ’em comes into town lookin’ for a blue-eyed blonde with a long ponytail, Thunder Point folks will say they don’t know any such person. But, you could always scream if you have to.”

“I can. And I used to run track in high school.”

That made him smile. “You got a driver’s license?”

“Had one,” she said. “When I joined The Fellowship, they took all my personal things and said they’d be stored for me. When you sneak out in the dark of night, you don’t get those things back.”

“Hmm. Guess that means you got no birth certificate.”

“Course not. But I think my driver’s license is still valid. I just don’t have it. And I memorized my Social Security Number. Why do you ask?”

“Because you’re gonna have to get around, that’s why. I been working on another truck—one left to me. Eventually it’ll be as fine as that old classic red job, but for right now? It runs fine.”

* * *

When Devon and Mercy arrived at the beach bar, ready to go to the job fair, she found Sarah and Spencer sitting on the deck with coffee. She didn’t want to intrude, so she just said, “Hi. I’m here.”

“Whoa,” Spencer said, nearly jumping out of his chair. “It’s a whole new you!”

“That’s darling,” Sarah said, smiling. “Good cut—you look like a young Meg Ryan. It must’ve been hard to part with that long hair.”

“Nah, I was ready to let that go. It’s more trouble than you can imagine.” But she often found herself reaching for that long braid, running a hand down the back of her neck.

“Pull up a chair, we have time. I was just watching Cooper down on the beach.”

Rawley came out onto the deck. “If you want to leave Mercy with me, I’ll show her how we catch the fish. After Cooper gets done on the beach and comes up, we’ll go out on the dock. I’ll make sure she has a life vest.”

“I don’t want you to be stuck babysitting, Rawley,” Devon said.