Dell

Dell

"Oh, you wish,"

Mara

The leisurely appearance of the World Worshippers who had surrounded Dell weeks ago showed no resemblance to the ones who now inhabited, patrolled, and slept in his camp.  Most were lean, taller, than a typical Newtopian, and none wore beards or were old.  They wore beaded decorative vests over their dark green Kevlar ones. The docile, passive creatures his older brother had described when they were younger were not of this ilk.  Mara had come upon his camp and told them more would come.  And sure enough two days later the rest arrived.  They leaked in from the darkness around their camp at four in the morning.

Dell had been escorted by Merol from the World Worshipper’s hidden holy place and was to return home but was forced to retreat to the forest south of his house.  He had been breaking the law days earlier by smuggling his father out of Newtopia.  Upon his return a small team of national law officers sat outside of his house day and night, questioning every visitor.  The fringe of the field in the forest where he and Merol first hid soon became too thoroughly screened by the patrolling agents.  One of the male worshippers patrolled too close to the field and hasn’t returned.

Deeper in the forest, the brook they settled near was white and fast.  It was too shallow for fish but smaller things like buffalo frogs and salamanders frequented it.  Single body trenches checkered the slope leading down to the brook and were used interchangeably to sleep in.  Privies were dug down stream just out from the water in tall grasses.  The stink of them never reached camp but Dell began to hate a different smell anyway.  The stink of fresh earth never went away and was a constant reminder that he may never see his mother or brother again.  Beds are better and so is heat and family.

Dell had nothing against the new arrivals though.  They brought food, blankets, and Mara, well Mara sort of brought them.  They kept mostly to themselves with the exception of a visit from Mara now and again.  She had come with him on one of his nightly hikes.  No mention of the kiss every came up but seemed to lay on the fringe of every conversation.

“How old are you?” she asked while they passed through Thatchet O’learny’s soybean field.

“Sixteen, you?” he answered.

“Jeese,” she laughed, “thought you were way older!” she said between chuckles and a suppressed snort.

“How old are you,” Dell asked defensively. “I bet you’re like fifteen.” She smiled and kept walking.

“Oh you wish.” Dell didn’t know what if that meant she was older or younger.  Confused by that and unsure about what he would say about the kiss the rest of the walk was gilded with mostly silence.  And just before they re-entered camp she out-right kissed him on the lips.  It was sudden so she smashed her nose onto his cheek first and then pressed her lips to his. He stopped and stared, she smiled and kept going.  They hadn’t spoken since then, two days ago.

Undeterred by the current silence of the camp Dell stood and walked towards Mara on the far end.  He passed two trenches on his left that were on top of the slope that ran down to the small stream below.  On his right he passed a worshipper cleaning a handgun and another next to him shaving solidified drips of wax off of a holy candle.  The slope began to even-out and caused Dell to stumble for a half of a step which caused a worshipper to shoot up from the trench she slept in.  He gave up a loud airy burp without will after he stumbled which caused another worshipper to stir as he passed. That was stupid, Dell thought, now very close to Mara and those she sat with. Did they hear that?

“Did you hear that?” Dell asked simply for the answer.

“No, what was it?” Mara answered as naturally as if they had been talking all day.

“Oh nothing I just thought I heard something.”  He didn’t know how the worshippers had known to initially come to the camp. Did Marol have a cell phone? Radio?  Both seemed remote possibilities since he would have seen or heard if Marol had been using a radio. As far as cell phones were concerned most major carriers didn’t place cell phone towers that close to the Pan-Atlanic.  That was something he had meant to ask Mara but when he walked up to her and the two others he forgot the question completely.