Page 62 of Convergence

“No way,” Everett said with a smirk. “She’s getting a farmhouse and a chicken coop.”

I crinkled my nose, remembering the chicken coop smell.

“Alright, goats?” Ev chuckled.

“Yes, please,” I smiled.

“Why not the suburbs? I think it could be hot. Eva’s out planting a little flower garden at our new house and some nosy bitch in a tennis skirt carrying a casserole comes over and asks where her husband is and webothcome out,” Nate mused.

“No, you’ve got it all wrong,” Everett said as we finished cleaning ourselves up. “We’ve got acres of land with no neighbors, the animals are all tended to, the work is done, and Eva is sunbathing naked by the pond, waiting for us.”

“Why aren’t I doing work on the farm?” I asked, laughing at their stories.

“Because you’re pregnant and can’t lift heavy things and you needed a nap,” Ev said with a smoldering look.

I laughed as I put my shirt back on. “You guys have some grand ideas.”

“Well, what do you picture?” Nate asked me.

I considered his question as I put my jeans back on. I felt a wave of sadness and grief for what I had lost when my mom died and for what I could have had. “I… don’t care where we go. Suburb or farm or city. I just want to be together and in love. I don’t want to be without this feeling ever again.”

“Never,” Everett said quietly.

And I knew he meant it.

24

It was midafternoon the next day when we were startled out of our tasks by the sound of a vehicle coming over the river. My knees and back had felt better that afternoon, so I was helping Easton turn and harvest potatoes while he talked me through the process of growing them. When I heard the crashing of branches and crunching of stone, I looked up to see both Everett and Nate running toward me. I was crouched down in the soil with Easton and was getting up stiffly as Nate and Ev reached me at the same time, heaving me under the arms and carrying me awkwardly between them to the woods behind the RV. I was still facing Easton as they ran with me, so I saw him brush his hand over my footprints in the soft soil. We hid in the woods, crouched behind a fallen tree, and peeked over to see who approached.

A dark gray pickup truck pulled up next to Easton’s and Tommy hopped out of the passenger seat. The fear that had gripped my heart relaxed when I saw the mountain man approach Easton. Easton turned to where we had run and gestured for us to come out, which we were already doing.

“Hey is this Hoffmann and Daisy?” Tommy called to us, holding out some paper.

Nate and Everett jogged to him and looked at the paper. They looked at each other and then over at me as I approached. Ev handed me the paper, and I looked down to see a few pages of pictures of Daisy and Hoffmann in varying qualities. I gasped.

“It’s them,” Everett told Tommy. “One hundred percent. Where are they?”

Tommy looked serious when he replied. “New York City. This building is where they’re storing the merchandise and decorations for New Year’s Eve celebrations. You know, the dumb ass glasses with the year on them and the beads and shit.”

“How’d they get in?” Nate asked.

“A swipe card,” Tommy sighed. “Can’t tell if they’ve stolen it or if they work there.”

“What can we do?” I asked quietly.

“I have to make some calls. Wait here, but be ready to move if you want to stop them,” Tommy said, and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I have a feeling they’re planting something.”

“I burned everything. Nothing survived,” Everett insisted. “It’s not ours.”

“Did they have access to the slides or test tubes or whatever before the fire?” Tommy asked with an eyebrow raised.

Everett’s shoulders slumped in defeat.

“That’s okay because you’ll be able to identify what they have,” Tommy said, and stepped away to make a call.

Easton turned to us. “Have you made your mind up on what you’re going to do? Here’s your opportunity to stop them and whatever they are planning. Or you can stay here. I can’t tell you what to do.”

Nate, Everett, and I looked at each other. We hadn’t exactly planned out what we wanted to do. Or come to a full agreement on it.

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