Forager (9781771275606) (29 page)

“
Did the medicine work? Is he better?” she asked.

“
I don’t know. He only took the medicine this morning. Dr.
White said it would be at least two days before he’d
know.”

Thinking of Sawyer made me wonder what he would do in my
position. Would he tell the mayor his daughter faked the
kidnapping? Or would he keep quiet, thinking that it couldn’t be
changed, so why share information that would only cause hurt and
anger?

We rode in silence after that. The sunset turned a beautiful
pinkish-orange. It would have been wonderful to have some special
to share it with. Instead, I was stuck with Chane.

Fred’s steady
clomp clomp
eventually led us back to town. A crowd of people
gathered at the city limit sign, even though darkness had
fallen.

Cries of “Chane, Chane,” echoed through the night. Hands
reached up to pat my leg. I heard things like, “Good job, Dillon,”
and “Way to go.”

Faking a smile on the chance they could see my face, I needed
to at least act like I’d done something special. A few days ago,
bringing Chane back to the cheers of the townsfolk was exactly what
I had wanted. Now because of her actions, my heroics were hollow,
even if the crowd didn’t know it. I felt cheated.

Chane grabbed my shoulder and whispered, “Please don’t tell
anyone.”

Then she was pulled off of Fred by people desperate to touch
her, assuring themselves she was really there.

The mayor, Jason, and Chane’s mother arrived. After hugging
her, they still clung to her. The mayor put his arm around Chane’s
shoulders, her mother held one hand, and Jason the other. It was
like they were afraid to let go.

Suddenly, the mayor’s ex-wife cried out, “Where’s Josh?” Then
louder, “Where’s my son?”

Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I said, “I need to
speak with the mayor, Frank Miller, and Dr. White as soon as
possible.”

More voices—”Dr. White? Why does he need the doctor? Is Josh
hurt? What happened to Josh? Where is he?”

A moment later, Frank touched my leg. “What happened? Where’s
Josh?”

Another hand grabbed my other leg. It was Jason. “Where’s
Josh, Orphan Boy? If you let something happen to him, I’ll beat you
bloody.”

Frank took Fred’s bridle and led us away from the crowd. The
mayor, his former wife, Jason, and Chane followed close
behind.

When we were far enough away from the crowd to speak
privately, Frank said, “What happened to Josh?”

“
Let’s find Dr. White first. That way I don’t have to say
everything twice.”

“
Just tell me,” the mayor said. “Is Josh all right?”

“
Yes, he’s still with the Scavengers. I’ll explain everything
when we’re all together.”

Chane’s mom burst into tears. The mayor went to her. He spoke
too quietly for me to hear, but a few seconds later he rejoined
Frank, Jason, and me. Chane and her mom turned for home, her mother
holding tight to Chane’s arm.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I wasn’t sure if I was going to
tell the mayor about her, but having Chane there would’ve only made
it harder if I decided to.

Frank set a quick pace, and when we reached the doors of the
infirmary the mayor sent Jason to find the doctor. The three of us
were left waiting.

I rehearsed a few phrases in my head. No one was going to be
happy about what I’d done. I wanted to make sure they understood my
lack of options.

Dr. White arrived, lighting the way with a single candle. Its
flickering flame bounced shadows off the walls. Beside him, Sawyer
hobbled along on a pair of crutches, and Jason followed them.
Sawyer’s presence gave me courage.

“
How’s the leg?” I asked.

“
It hurts. The doctor says it’s too early to tell if the
medicine is working.”

Dr. White led us to a small room that held a table and chairs.
He dripped some wax from the candle on the table and then set the
candle in it to hold it upright.

“
So what’s this about? Where’s my son?” the mayor
asked.

“
Josh is being held by the Scavengers. They want the doctor to
come out and care for their wounded. Once he has, Josh will be
released.”

“
That’s it? What about filling all those wagons?” Frank
asked.

“
They don’t want that anymore.”

“
So all they want is the doctor?” Jason asked. “Are they
planning on kidnapping him next?”

I wondered again how the Scavengers had earned their
reputation as savages and if it was warranted. “No, both the doctor
and Josh will be free to go after the doctor has seen to the
wounded.”

“
This doesn’t make sense,” Frank said. “They wouldn’t give up
all of those supplies just for a visit from the doctor. What aren’t
you telling us?”

I gulped. This was the moment I’d been dreading. Keeping my
voice low, I made sure to speak clearly. I didn’t want to have to
say it twice. “I led them to the cache.”

The mayor exploded out of his seat and slapped his hands
down hard on the table. “You did
what
?” The candle flame bounced wildly. The dark
moving shadows it cast on the mayor’s face made him look like a
snarling wolf.

Jason yelled, “You really are stupid, Orphan Boy!”

Frank shook his head and sighed.

Dr. White’s face paled. The hollow look of loss in his eyes
was incalculable. He said one word— “No.” It came out in a
heart-wrenching whisper.

Sawyer gazed across the table at me with a thoughtful look on
his face.

Frank tried to take charge of the room. “Okay, everybody, I’m
sure there’s a perfectly good reason for this.”

There was, but no reason I could give would ever be good
enough for the mayor.

“
It’s done,” said Sawyer. “I suggest that you two,” he pointed
at Jason and the mayor, “get a hold of your emotions.”

The mayor’s rage turned on Sawyer. “What do you know about it?
You and the boy probably planned this from the start!”

Sawyer’s smile was cold and grim. “I wish I had. It’s actually
a very good idea.”

The mayor was about to yell something else when Frank grabbed
his arm and coaxed him into his chair. “I for one would like to
hear why the Forager thinks it’s such a great idea.”

“
Here’s why,” Sawyer said. “The Scavengers now have something
you need. Given the opportunity to trade or fight, what would you
do?”

“
I say we fight,” said the mayor. “Dillon can lead us to their
camp. We shoot anyone we see. We take back my son, and the
medicines and guns that rightfully belong to us!”

Jason yelled, “Yes!”

“
Listen to yourself, Harold,” Frank said. “Do you hear what’s
coming out of your own mouth? You sound like a….like a
Scavenger.”

“
I wouldn’t do it, anyway,” I said. “If we show up with an
army, they aren’t going to sit back and let you shoot them. More
people would die. More people would be injured, and not just
Scavengers.”

Sawyer cleared his throat to quiet us. With help from his
crutches, he stood, bent over the table, and looked the mayor
straight in the eye. “The only military action the governor would
approve against the Scavengers is one of defense. You know the
governor wants every able-bodied person working to fill the quotas.
If you take the fight to the Scavengers and lose even one worker to
death or injury, you will lose his support, and most likely, the
leadership of this town. Send the doctor. Let him treat their
injured, and free your son.”

The mayor covered his face with his hands. His chest rose with
a great indrawn breath. He held that breath, and held it, and held
it. I watched his chest slowly deflate. When he took his hands away
from his face, he was calm, calmer than I’d seen him since before
I’d shot the deer. “You’re right. I don’t like it, but I’ll not
risk Josh’s life in an attack that’s sure to get more of us
killed.”

Dr. White remained quiet throughout the discussion. Now he
stood and said, “I will do my part. I took an oath a long time ago
to help however I could, wherever I could. Though I wish it didn’t
have to be Scavengers.”

“
Is it settled then?” Frank asked.

I was the first to stand. One by one, the others around the
table stood in agreement. The mayor stood last.

“
I’ll be ready in the morning,” Dr. White said with a
sigh.

“
Dillon, why don’t you sleep here tonight?” suggested Frank.
“I’m sure the doctor can find you a bed. That way the two of you
can leave at first light.”

“
I need to tend to Fred,” I said.

Sawyer nodded approvingly.

“
Don’t worry,” Frank said. “I’ll see to her and have her and a
horse for the doctor ready in the morning.”

Frank left with Jason close on his heels. The mayor waited
until they were out of the room before he spoke. “Dillon.
Thank…thank you for bringing Chane back.”

I locked my fingers behind my head and squeezed the back of my
skull. How could this man hate me so much one minute and appreciate
me the next?

He turned to leave. “Wait,” I said. “There’s something you,
and only you, need to know.”

The mayor waved Dr. White and Sawyer out of the
room.

When we were alone, I said, “Chane wasn’t kidnapped. She ran
away.”

The mayor looked at me for a long time without saying
anything. I couldn’t tell if he believed me. After a while, I tore
my gaze away from his and fixed it on the candle flame.

Maybe my silence would have been better, but I couldn’t see
how. The mayor needed to know what his daughter was capable of. Now
he could take steps to make sure she didn’t endanger the town
again. The funny thing was, I expected to feel a bit of remorse at
betraying her. I didn’t. Instead, a great weight lifted off my
chest.

I stood there and gazed at the flame until the mayor
left.

Prying the candle loose from the wax, I walked out into the
hallway. Dr. White and Sawyer were waiting for me.

“
You can bunk in my room. I’d like the company,” Sawyer
said.

Dr. White led us there. He wheeled a bed in from an adjoining
room and asked, “Anything else I can get you two?”

“
Something to kill the pain?” Sawyer looked at me and
laughed.

I know he meant it as a joke, but I felt responsible for the
ache in his leg. The cache I’d let Rasp take probably held pain
medicine. Dr. White confirmed my hunch when he gave me a look full
of loss.

“
I’m fine,” I said.

The wavering light made the doctor’s eyes more haunted. He
remained silent as he exited the room.

Handing the candle to Sawyer, I rolled my bed in close enough
to his so that could sit and talk face-to-face.

“
I’m sorry. That was an ill-considered joke,” Sawyer
said.

“
I shouldn’t have given up those medicines.” I knew the
anguished look on the doctor’s face would stay with me for a long
time.

“
Maybe not, they had the potential to help everyone in this
town. Maybe it was wrong to trade them, but it’s exactly what I
would have done. Dillon, remember this—there are things that even
the strongest medicines can’t cure. One of them is regret. The
mayor, and everyone else, might not be happy with you now, but at
least he will get his children back unharmed. That’s something both
you and the mayor can never regret. He knows this. Why do you think
he thanked you?”

“
But Dr. White…”

“
He’ll get over it…eventually. Besides, who says that’s the
last he’ll see of those medicines? There is always the possibility
of trade. In fact, that’s what tomorrow comes down to. The
Scavengers are willing to trade the mayor’s son for Dr. White’s
expertise. Later, they might be willing to trade medicine for it,
or for food, or clothing. There’s probably no end to what they
need.”

“
But Scavengers don’t trade, at least none that I’ve ever heard
of,” I said.

“
True enough. But then again, they may be the first band of
Scavengers that has something that is actually tradable. Always
before, it’s been the towns that had what the Scavengers wanted. Do
you realize what you’ve set in motion? Do you have any idea what
this could lead to?”

I shook my head. Sawyer sounded excited, like I’d done the
impossible. What was he talking about? All I saw was my failure.
I’d given the Scavengers weapons to use against us and medicines
that could have helped all the townsfolk. Where was the heroism in
that?

“
Trade,” he said. “It can start wars, but it can also end them.
You may have inadvertently led this town and that band of
Scavengers down a new road. One that doesn’t include townspeople
killing every Scavenger they come across, and one that doesn’t
force every Scavenger to have to fight for every supply he can’t
get on his own.”

“
Do they know this, the mayor and Frank? Can they see the same
possibilities you do?”