What could have been a plague could now be little more than a localized nuisance. Hector and two of the ville women who had assisted him in his med building traveled with Mildred and Krysty to the redoubt, where they learned how to synthesize the antidote.
Within a few days, things were ready for both the Gate and the companions to move on. But to where?
LEAVING CROSSROADS to rebuild, the companions and the Gate retreated to the area where the Gate had previously camped, and the tribe set up there for some days. It was a rare chance for both parties to take some respite from the hardship of constant battle. With Jak recovering after his inoculation, it was a chance for the albino to spend some time with Gloria, and also for Dean to renew his relationship with Tammy. But for all four of them, it was bittersweet, tinged with the knowledge that the parting of the ways had to soon come.
By the fourth day, Ryan and J.B. were both itchy. New England made them uneasy, the memories of their exploits on the coast still too close for comfort, and both were keen to move.
So it was that they gathered around the campfire as the night drew on, cold in the woodlands—the companions and Tammy and Gloria.
“You know the time has come to part, don’t you, sweets?” Gloria asked.
Ryan nodded. “We need to go. Mebbe move farther north. One day mebbe we’ll settle, but for now…”
“For now we just have to keep moving, keep searching,” J.B. added.
“For what?” Tammy asked.
Ryan shrugged. “I don’t think any of us know, but we’ll know when we find it.”
“Have you found it, honey?” Gloria asked Jak.
The albino was silent for a moment, then looked her in the eyes. “Mebbe could have…but chilling follows, always. Can’t be with, must always be alone. Safer for all.”
The Gate queen agreed. “I can understand. I feel that way. And I’d like us to come with you, but we’ve got to stay.”
“Why?” Mildred asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
Gloria looked into the fire, and for a moment it seemed as though she were lost in the flames, retreating into a trance state to look for an answer. Finally, she said, “Our legends have always spoken of the Gate, and the pathway to Illumination. I really thought that we’d found that gateway when we found these scum fuckers. I thought that I would be the one to lead the tribe to our ultimate destiny.”
“And now?”
“And now I don’t know. I kinda figure that the answer does lie with what’s happened. Somehow it equates to what’s in our legends. I just haven’t worked out how yet. But if the answer does lie in that redoubt, then I’ll work it out. It just may take some time.”
She fell silent, looking once more into the fire.
WHEN THE GATE TRIBE rose in the early morning sun, the space in the camp where the companions had billeted was empty. Before the dawn had even begun, Ryan had rallied his people, and they were already at the redoubt.
AS RYAN CLOSED the door to the mat-trans unit and hurried to sit beside Krysty, he knew that none of them knew where they would end up.
They only knew that they had to keep searching.
For something—absolution, release, freedom, peace?
Just something…