He stood and gently grabbed her wrist. “Where you going?” he asked, worried that she was angry.
“What do you care?” she said, trying to pull away from his grip. “You haven’t said more than two words to me all night. I’m going home.”
He let go of her and walked over to stand in between her and door.
“I’m sorry,” he said, almost frantic. “I… okay… screw it… I’ll just tell you. Just sit back down okay?”
She looked at him and a nervous look came into her eyes. She swallowed hard, thinking the worst. Was he cheating? Had he lost interest in her? She hesitated, prompting him to push her down onto the couch by her shoulders. For the first time all night, he turned to her and looked into her eyes.
“I don’t know how to even start,” he said, looking away again.
She smiled at his nervousness, but still felt the dread that he was about to end their relationship.
“It’s crazy and I don’t know if you think it’s crazy, but it’s crazy how easy it is to be with you. How easy it is to talk to you. I haven’t felt like this since—”
“—Your wife died,” she interjected, emotion creeping into her voice.
His face went flush. It was the first time these emotions had been put into words. “Yeah,” he said sullenly, looking away again, feeling a small stab of that old, familiar pain. “I mean… that’s not a bad thing. It’s a good thing.”
“It’s a good thing but… you’re scared?” she asked, finally having the courage to face the end. “You’re not sure where this is going so you have to break up with me?” She shuddered and a tear ran down her cheek. He reached over and gently wiped it away.
“What? No, no, no,” he said, trying to regain control of the conversation. “Okay, sorry Honey. I’m not making myself clear here.”
“You think?” she said sarcastically through her tears and then chuckled softly.
Patton laughed and the awful tension that had been building was broken. He slid off the couch and moved to in front of her. He pulled her legs apart and wedged between them.
“What I’m trying to say is… will you marry me?”
The dread was gone but it took a second for the question to register. When it did, her eyes bulged and she lunged into his arms.
“Yes! I will!” she said, squeezing his neck like a vice.
They stayed there like that for a long moment, holding each other tightly. The hug turned into a kiss, their tears mingling on their cheeks. She pulled away and simultaneously laughed and cried, the way only women can do. When her shock passed, they talked about general details of their upcoming wedding—where, when, who would they would invite. Eventually their excitement faded and they fell asleep on Patton’s couch in each other’s arms.
CHAPTER 8
Anna had felt euphoria like this before, but it had often been drug induced. She was happy now because her friends Mark and Patty were finally there, sleeping in her guest bedroom. She watched them sleep from the doorway, much like a new mother would look upon her sleeping newborn.
The two had quite a journey, driving much of the way in Patty’s broken down Chevy Cavalier. The car finally died just west of Cheyenne, Wyoming. A friend wired them money to buy bus tickets to Salt Lake City. That part of their journey took them the better part of two days. Once they reached Utah they rode public transit as far north as Ogden, Utah, which was the end of the line. From that point they still had over thirty miles to go.
The two stayed in Ogden for a few days, panhandling and bumming cigarettes and money. They were able to find someone to drive them the rest of the way to their new home. They reached the border of experiment-owned territory at dusk and decided to camp there. They woke up the next morning, tired, cold and hungry, and much in need of a shower. They discarded most of their supplies in order to lighten their load and made their way on foot. By mid afternoon they reached civilization, passing some outlying ranches and farms. When they saw the lake, and then the town itself, they stopped and hugged each other in relief. Their long journey was over.
They made their way into town, staying hidden at a small city park until Anna could pick them up. Their reunion was full of hugs and tears and then Anna drove them to her apartment where they ate and showered. After they fell asleep, Anna gathered up all of their things and threw them in the trash. She had already purchased new clothes for them. Anna wanted to wake them so they catch up, but they were exhausted. She would let them sleep.
She picked up her phone and dialed Charlie’s number, who picked up after the third ring.
“Hello Anna,” he said hoarsely. He sounded like he’d just woken up from a nap.
“Hi Charlie.”
“So are we on for tonight, Doll? You’re not calling to cancel on me are you?”
She cringed. The image of his sweaty face filled her mind and the sound of his panting and grunting filled her ears. She didn’t want to remember the nights she had given into him. She had plans and she needed his help, but she couldn’t go on with their personal relationship. She would have to break that off later. She had more important things to worry about.
“That’s why I’m calling,” she said hesitantly, not wanting to set him off. “Mark and Patty are here. We all need to get together. How about tomorrow night?” she asked, cringing.
“Right,” he said, not able to mask the disappointment in his voice.
“They just got here yesterday and they’re really worn out,” she said, beginning to feel angry at Charlie’s selfishness.
“Excellent,” Charlie said, taking a more business-like tone now.
“Yeah,” she said, suddenly thinking about the man from the restaurant, suddenly having the desire to call him. Charlie was rambling about something or other, but Anna hadn’t heard him.
“Anna?”
“Yes, sorry Charlie. I’m here.”
“As I was saying,” he said, obviously annoyed, “once we start this, there’s no turning back. Are you ready for that?”
“Yes,” she said, hoping she sounded more certain than she felt. She didn’t exactly know what he’d meant by “no turning back” but she was all in.
“Are your friends ready for that?” he asked soberly. Charlie thought, these people being as young and inexperienced as they were, weren’t prepared to help create the necessary level of chaos. No bother. Either they would adjust or they would be out. He needed serious people who had the will to do what it would take.
“Charlie, we’ve been ready for this for our whole lives,” Anna said, hoping she sounded convincing.
Charlie paused, letting her commitment hang in the air. After a few moments he said, “I hope so. There’s much to do.”
While Anna’s friends struggled their way to their destination, Travis Snedley and company traveled in luxury. All eight of them were flown into Salt Lake City, first class at someone’s expense. Only one pair had come together. The rest had traveled separately.
The party spent three nights and two days in the city’s finest hotel. They ate at the best restaurants. They were driven up into the mountain resort town of Park City to escape the heat and be pampered at a luxury day spa. They figured it was the least Charlie—or whoever it was bankrolling their operation –could do for them before they descended into the chaos that they themselves were planning to create.
Besides Travis there were four other men and three women. One of the men had been in Travis’s Army unit. One of the men and one of the women had been members of the Earth Liberation Front—a radical environmental movement that tried to injure or kill as punishment for damaging the planet. The others had no particular training. They merely had the will and the right ideology.