Village E3: Survival of the Human Spirit (16 page)

Time passed, babies were born, and
babies disappeared during the night. The time came at last for Hailey to give
birth, and like for the other births, the caretakers showed up as soon as labor
began. Each birth had been quick and without complications, and this one was no
different.

The caretakers took control of the
cabin, placing Hailey on blankets on the floor. When the baby boy came, he was
cleaned up, and Hailey was helped to her bed. After Katie, John, Olga, and Li
Jing held the baby, group by group, the others came and went. They all knew
that they had this night and tomorrow with the baby, then it would be the
second night. That is when some unknown person or being would come for the
baby.

After all the visits were over, they
had time to enjoy the baby. He had a full head of hair and much lighter skin
than Hailey. John knelt by the bed, and as Hailey held her child, he reached
for his tiny hand. As if he knew who was there, he gripped John's index finger
with his little hand. "I think he is mine," said John. "I think
so too," said Hailey, smiling. "Have you decided on a name?"
asked Olga. "Yes. Charles," said Hailey, "After my father."

"Can I hold him," asked
John. "Sure," said Hailey, lifting Charles up to John. John was a
little clumsy trying to decide how to hold him. "Hold his head up,"
said Hailey. John lifted his son near his face, supporting his head with his
hand. He gently kissed his forehead, then positioned him on his shoulder like
you would when burping an infant.

The next day, it was hard to get the
newborn away from Hailey. She breast fed him like women had done for thousands
of years, and the bond between mother and child was already growing stronger. Her
total focus was spending every possible moment with him. In the evening, John
wanted to hold Charles for a while, not knowing if it would be the last time.
He swayed back and forth, holding him in his arms, then he lifted him to his
shoulder.

As he slid his hand down the back of his
head, his finger felt something hard. There was something small but noticeable,
right at the base of the baby's skull. Feeling it with the end of his finger, it
felt about the size of a grain of rice. None of the women noticed, so he kept
his discovery to himself. "Do you want to hold him?" he asked Katie.
"Yes, of course," she said.

John carefully handed him over to
Katie. As if he were scratching an itch, John felt the base of his own skull,
and was excited to find that he too had the same hard spot.
This must be how
they control us, and track us,
thought John. He thought of Isamu, and
wished he was here with him.
What can I do with this,
he wondered, as his
mind raced.

As darkness fell, the mood in the
cabin became solemn, because they each knew what tonight was. John wasn't sure
what he was going to do, but he knew that he should tell someone about what he
had found. While Katie held the baby, he went to Hailey, put his cheek against
hers and put his arm around her. With his lips were next to her ear, he
whispered "I'm going to get up. After I do, feel the base of your skull
with your finger. See if there is something very small, and hard there. If
there is, wink at me." He stood up and
walked across the room, and when he turned around, Hailey winked at him.

John could tell that Hailey was now
thinking about what this meant too. "I'm going to stay up with you
tonight," he said to Hailey. The others agreed to stay up also, so John
walked outside to put more wood on the fire. On his way past the table, he
picked up the knife. Other than the light from the fire, they had no light at
all.

After adding wood to the fire, he
felt for the little hard spot again. He checked the sharpness of the knife with
his thumb, and locating the hard spot with the end of his finger, he placed the
end of the blade right on top of it. He applied downward pressure with the
knife, and slide it across his skin. It was painful, but he didn't care. He could
feel it now, in the open wound. Trying to pry it out with his finger tip, he
became frustrated when it wouldn't budge. He took a moment to mentally prepare
himself for more pain, then stuck the end of the blade below the object and
pried upward.

He could grip it now between his
fingertips. In a quick jerk, it came free, but not without some cost. The pain
was strong enough to make him yell out. "Are you alright?" he heard a
voice ask from inside the cabin. "I'm all right, I just touched some hot
wood," said John, not wanting them to know the truth. He felt blood
running down the back of his neck. In the dim light, he doubted if anyone would
notice. He rubbed his neck with his hand, trying to remove as much blood as he
could.

There was water on the table, so he retrieved
a cup full, then washed up as well as he could and went back inside again.
"John, come here," said Hailey. As he got to her side, she took his
hand, and pulled him close to her. "What are you going to do?" she
asked quietly. "I don't know, but if I can help it, I'm not going to let
them have Charles," said John. "Don't do anything stupid,"
whispered Hailey. "Now have I ever done anything stupid? Don't answer
that," said John, trying to lighten the mood. "I mean it. We need you
here," said Hailey.

Much like on the night Isamu and John
spent waiting, time seemed to slow down. Hours crawled by as the five of them
talked, trying their best to stay awake. As baby Charles alternated between
eating and sleeping, suddenly the talking stopped.

Li Jing and
Olga fell from their chairs and hit the floor. Katie was standing, and also
fell to the floor. Hailey was in bed so she didn't make a sound. Thinking
quickly, John also went to the floor. He positioned himself so he could see
Hailey and Charles. He could feel his heart pounding. This was the moment he
had been waiting for. Even with the light from the fire, the room was very
dimly lit, and totally silent, except for the sounds of nature coming from
outside.

He waited for the unknown, with his
knife hidden beneath his shoulder on the floor.
What should I do,
he
wondered. He'd spent so much time planning, and now when he needed a plan, he
didn't know what to do.

After what seemed like an eternity,
he heard the sound of footsteps entering the room.
What will they look like,
he wondered. Although already beating fast, his heart rate increased even more.
His body felt like it was ready to tremble from the adrenaline rushing through
his veins. A single familiar figure came into view, and even in the poor light,
he could tell that it was Rebecca. John's first instinct was to stop her as she
approached the baby. He fought off the urge to leap to his feet, while
pretending to be unconscious like the rest were.

Rebecca had a basket with her, and set
it on the floor, as she approached the bed where Hailey and Charles were. Very
gently, she took Charles from the arms of his sleeping mother. Keeping one eye
completely closed, John watched, squinting with his other eye, which was partly
shielded by his arm. Once the baby was in the basket, Rebecca wasted no time
leaving. John remained motionless for several seconds after Rebecca left the
cabin.

He raised his head and looked around,
to make sure Rebecca was gone, then quietly but quickly got to his feet and
went to the door. The moon was just beginning to rise, so that meant that soon
there would be plenty of light. He could see Rebecca walking up the path to the
village, and followed, being careful to stay to the side of the path, so he
could take cover if he needed to.

They neared the spot where John had
felt severe pain when he tried to approach the village before. He wasn't sure
what to expect, but if the pain hit him again, he wouldn't be able to go any
farther. Passing that point, and feeling nothing, he thought of how Isamu was
able to go well past there.
Did he already have it figured out,
he wondered.

Rebecca walked past the rows of
cabins and continued until she reached the path that John, Hailey, and Katie
had used to find the village. She was taking the same path that led to the
clearing where they woke up with the others. It was getting lighter now, so
John slowed down and allowed her to get farther ahead. Maintaining a steady
pace, she never looked back.

John was well back now and walking
slightly crouched. It was a clear night, and the sky was full of stars, but as
the moon rose higher, the stars lost much of their brilliance. John wondered
where they were going and what he would see. He still was unsure of what he
would do, or even what he could do. Rebecca stopped at the edge of the clearing,
so John got off the path, just to be safe. She quickly looked over her
shoulder, then walked into the clearing, with John matching her speed.

Once Rebecca reached the center of
the clearing, she stopped. John again stepped off the path, so he wouldn't be
seen. She set the basket down, then bent over it for a moment. John peered
through the leaves of a small tree, so he could see what she was doing. She
turned and started walking directly toward the path, so John scurried off to
the side about twenty feet.

Rebecca walked right past him, on her
way back to the village. John kept his eye on the basket, which was still
sitting where she had left it. Checking to see where Rebecca was, he wasn't
sure what to expect next. Once she was out of sight, he worked his way to the
end of the path.
This must be where they pick up the babies,
he thought.
He got completely off the path, because he wasn't sure who might show up, or
what direction they might come from.

John watched and waited for what
seemed like a very long time. He felt guilty for leaving little Charles out
there alone.
Should I go get him,
he wondered. He wished that he could
go get him and take him back home.
What would that accomplish though,
he
thought.

Far to his left, there was a bright
light, but he couldn't tell what it was, because his view was blocked by
vegetation. From that direction, a lone figure walked into the clearing and
toward the basket. John's heart again began to pound, as he gripped the knife that
he had been carrying. He nervously shifted it from one type of grip, to
another. The figure reached the basket as John stood to his feet.

Every cell in John's body was urging
him to run, but still unsure of himself, John walked quickly toward the center
of the clearing. Any ability to restrain himself quickly vanished and he
sprinted with every ounce of strength he had. As the gap between them closed,
John's first thought was to tackle this unknown person.
If I do that, I
could hurt Charles,
he thought. As he got closer, he could see that the
person appeared to be male.
It's just me and him,
he thought, as he
neared him.

John could feel the pent up anger
that he had suppressed for months, bubbling to the surface. "Get away from
my baby," he yelled, in a tone that was meant to intimidate. The figure
remained motionless, with his arms down to his side. John slowed as he reached
him, then raised his knife and felt the surge of power that anger brings to the
human body.

He wasn't thinking now, as he brought
the knife down with all his strength, aiming to strike this man in the back,
between the shoulder blades. He barely began the forward motion with his arm,
when it was stopped by a hand grasping his wrist. He was now face to face with
this unknown person. His face wasn't like John's. The facial structure was
similar, but he had no nose, and had a forehead that was larger and broader.
There were two slits where the nose should be, and his eyes were slightly
larger and farther apart. With and expression that was neutral, his ears were
larger and fused to his head, not sticking out from it.

My name is Enoch. You cannot hurt me,
John heard him say. He heard him,
but there was no sound. He spoke to John using his mind.
That is what you
think,
thought John. Enoch understood his thought.
Go ahead, try with
your other hand. I can react faster than you can act,
Enoch told John
telepathically.

How can I understand what he is
thinking, and how can he understand what I'm thinking,
wondered John.
He expects me to go
for his head, so I'll go for his solar plexus,
thought John.
No, I
expect you to go for whatever it is you go for,
thought Enoch.
What in
the hell can I do, if he can read my mind,
wondered John.
Relax, there
is nothing you can do to hurt me,
thought Enoch.

John decided to hit Enoch in the
face. At the very moment John decided to strike, Enoch was holding his other
wrist. John tried to free himself, but Enoch was much stronger than he was,
making struggling pointless. John hadn't come all this way to just give up
though.
I'm going to let you go now,
thought Enoch. He then released
John's hands, allowing him to lower his hands to his side. John lunged forward
in an attempt to tackle Enoch, but fell flat on the ground, where the basket
had been. He looked back and saw that Enoch was holding the basket, and was
behind him. He popped back up to face the strange looking creature.

John could see the expression on
Enoch's face change. It was a subtle change, but to John, it looked like
sadness.
Regrettably, you are no longer acceptable,
thought Enoch.

At that moment, John felt something
start to close around him, like a tight bandage, even though he saw nothing. He
couldn't move his arms or his legs, and fell to the ground.
Don't be afraid.
There will be no pain,
thought Enoch. Enoch stood over John for a few
minutes, holding the basket containing Charles, then turned and walked away.
John couldn't move his head enough to see where they were going, but he did see
some light emanating from the same area where Enoch originally came from. John
tried again to move his arms, but it was as if he was frozen. He couldn't even
move his fingers. He felt his muscles suddenly relax, but still couldn't move.