“At least you have a gun,” Jeff mumbled.
“Aside from your good leg, you’ve got nothing to lose. They’ll probably let you try to stumble away.”
“You’re right. I do have it good.”
“Remember, not a mention that we are vagrants,” Carlee said. She doubted that Jeff would let it slip. In fact, she had no doubt he was terrified. She’d had a peaceful childhood compared to most, sheltered from a lot of what people faced these days, but even she had been taught to fear vagrants. It was likely that if the people of the village they were approaching figured out their true identity, they would try to kill them. “They should have eyes on us any minute. No killing, Stef.”
“I hate that phrase,” Stefani grumbled. Carlee knew from experience that Stefani’s response was both truthful and a joke. She did like to shoot people, but only if they deserved it. In general, her friend was only slightly overeager; it worked out well because Carlee would rather be shot herself than shoot others if she could help it. The world had seen enough death already, and unfortunately, she had done her share. She wasn’t a pacifist, and sometimes people needed her protection.
They were walking down a dirt road, making no attempts at concealing themselves. It was an extremely foolish move, but Carlee wasn’t concerned. Stefani protested walking so exposed when they knew other humans were around, but she had protested everything since Carlee had forced her to leave her beloved sniper rifle behind.
“You’re sure they are up here?” Stefani asked as they continued to walk.
“The readings were clear,” Carlee said. “And there are plenty of signs that this area is inhabited.”
“Maybe the transport should have told us to park a little closer,” Stefani said.
Carlee ignored the comment. She knew Stefani didn’t really mean anything by it, but Stefani would be happy to argue about it for hours. She was funny that way.
“So, I was thinking—” Jeff said.
“Here we go . . .” Stefani said.
“With the whole reality-splitting time-line stuff . . . you mentioned that they split on decisions. But I never really consciously decided which question to ask. It just kind of flowed out of me, but that’s still enough to create a new path?”
“Actions require a decision,” Carlee said. “Inertia doesn’t overcome itself.” She didn’t blame Jeff for taking advantage of the opportunity to try to learn, although she did feel slightly guilty for teaching him—Jane wouldn’t approve of it.
“Carl is smart,” Stefani said. “At some things. Not great at judging distances, though.”
“So, actions are what causes the split, then? Not decisions?”
“We only know so much about how it all works,” Carlee said. “But I suppose the designation would come down to whether you consider nonphysical decisions to be actions.”
“I’ve never really thought about that,” Jeff said.
“Good, that makes you normal,” Stefani said.
“Like the things you spend your time thinking about are normal,” Carlee said. Not that Carlee was complaining—Stefani’s perspective on life kept things fresh. She had a more creative mind, and by all accounts, she should be the better presser between them. But that’s not how things had worked out on this path. And there were many things on this path that hadn’t worked out like they should.
“Someone has to think about whether we were the ones to domesticate dogs or if they were the ones to—”
“Hands up!” Six guards in makeshift camouflage appeared out of the foliage on the side of the road.
Carlee raised one arm and moved the other to help steady Jeff, but to her surprise, he was fine. He had adjusted quickly to his new circumstances.
“We don’t want any trouble,” Carlee said.
Carlee surveyed the faces of the people who thought they had surprised them. Their temperaments were the most important thing for her to read. Everyone had weapons and could hurt people; it was people’s personalities that determined her nerves these days.
“Jeff, get that stump in the air,” Stefani said dryly. “Wouldn’t want us to get shot.”
“Sorry,” Jeff said as he rose what was left of his arm into the air.
“You got any weapons?” a boy trying to act older and tougher than he actually was said as he stepped in front of the group.
“Of course we do,” Carlee said. “We’re not crazy.”
Admitting that they had weapons caused a stir among their welcoming party. The young man in front of them looked to another guard for direction. He was trying hard to show leadership, but he didn’t have the confidence to match it yet.
“Give us your weapons,” the boy said. He held his shotgun up threateningly.
Stefani sighed. She was fully capable of disarming the boy or killing everyone in their community with little effort, so it was no surprise that she had little patience for playing along.
“What’s your name, sir?” Carlee asked.
“Er . . . Matt,” he said.
“Matt, we didn’t come this way in order to get in a fight. But we have no desire to leave ourselves defenseless. Now, how about you invite us into your village, and in exchange for some hospitality and a square meal, we will repay you with our medical services,” Carlee said.
“You are all doctors?” Matt asked. His voice was full of surprise and disarming hope. He lowered his shotgun slowly.
“Matt, no!” a woman shouted from his side.
“We can’t trust ’em,” an older male voice said from Jeff’s side.
“But they’re doctors,” Matt said, but he pointed his gun at them once again.
“We’re honest folk,” Carlee said. She made her accent match theirs. “We won’t stay more than a day or two, and we’re not aiming for any handouts.”
“No one from the outside can come in,” the woman said. “Heather’s orders. You know it.”
“Heather needs a doctor. And so does her boy,” Matt said. Thankfully, she knew he was going to give in; Carlee had seen too many people in need in the past to doubt how this would work. The world had damaged people so deeply that they didn’t know how to accept kindness anymore.
“But—” the woman started to protest, but Stefani cut her off.
“I think you could handle a gimp and a couple of women if we tried any sketchy business, couldn’t you?” Stefani asked.
“All right,” Matt said, lowering his gun. “You can come with us, but you help Heather first.”
“Of course. Thank you, Matt,” Carlee said. She projected her calmest voice, hoping to further placate any concerns among the guards.
No one said a word as they escorted the vagrants and Jeff off the road and through some thin trees. It didn’t take Carlee long to figure out that they hadn’t built their community on top of one that had existed before the Ascension, as many others had.
A few minutes later, they came to a palisade fence where guards who were little more than children protected their borders. No smoke rose from their village, but a dozen or so yurts were built in a circle formation. In the center of their small community, a handful of toddlers chased after one another.
It broke Carlee’s heart to see them. She didn’t want to think about the hardships they would see in this world. At times, she wished she could go back to being one of them, dancing around carefree, not worried about Apostles, warlords, or trying to show people what it meant to be human. In another path, she might have kept her innocence longer, maybe even had children of her own. But no matter how much she wished to live in another time line, this was the one she could change. She would help these people.
Everyone in the circular encampment was fixated on the outsiders. Even the children stopped playing as Matt led them briskly toward one of the yurts.
Stefani said something to Jeff in a whisper, no doubt sharing her cynical view. Carlee didn’t want her influencing him that way, but she hoped her actions would speak louder than Stefani’s words. Helping people was never a waste. And deep down, she believed that Stefani felt the same, no matter how much she complained about these visits.