Among the Enemy

'Percy?' he whispered into the darkness.

'I'm here,' Percy whispered back. 'Look.'

It was a useless command. The enormous tree that now covered them blocked out all light. But Matthias reached out in the direction of Percy's voice, and he felt what Percy was holding out to him: It was the metal clasp of Percy's seat belt, surrounded by jagged wood. The falling tree had shattered the wood wall. Percy was free now too.

'Thank God,' Matthias murmured. 'Let's get Alia and go. Alia?'

No answer.

'Alia?' Matthias said louder, and reached out to the other side, to where Alia had been sitting. His fingers dug through leaves, more leaves, and prickly twigs. And then a branch too large to shove aside.

Cold fear seemed to crawl along every nerve in his body. He reached under the branch, brushing the floor of the truck bed. The floor seemed to be covered with some sort of sticky liquid now.

Dew, he tried to tell himself. Dew or sap. Tree sap is sticky, isn't it?

But he knew what the liquid really was. Blood.

'Alia?' he cried again, his voice coming out in a hoarse gasp.

Someone moaned on the other side of the branch.

Matthias dived over the branch. Mercifully, Alia was right there. He scooped her up into his arms.

'We've got to go, Alia,' he muttered. 'Now.'

Her head flopped loosely against his shoulder.

She's breathing, Matthias told himself. I know she is. I heard her moan. She must still be alive. He took the time to wrap his hand around her wrist. Her pulse beat against his fingers. Faintly.

'Come on, Percy,' Matthias commanded, panic making his voice raspy. 'I found Alia. Follow me.'

Percy put one hand on Matthias's shoulder, and the two of them fought their way through the branches. Sometimes they had to shove other children out of their way too. Sometimes the children moaned or complained: 'Ouch! You stepped on my fingers!' Some of the children were crying or screaming: 'Help me! Help me!' 'My leg!'

'My arm!' 'I'm trapped!' The voices wove together into one roaring tide of pain and fear, until Matthias could no longer make out the individual words.

Some of the children were silent. Somehow that was worse.

Matthias tried not to think about what that meant. He focused on moving forward, lifting Alia over the branches, protecting her from the twigs that threatened to snag her nightgown and scratch her skin. He ignored his aching muscles, his straining back, anything that might distract him from his escape.

Finally he reached the back edge of the truck bed.

'You go first. I'll hand Alia down to you,' he whispered over his shoulder to Percy.

Percy slipped past Matthias, shimmying down to the ground. Stiffly, Matthias knelt down and lowered Alia into Percy's arms. Alia was all skin and bones, a wisp of a child, but Percy still staggered under her weight. Matthias jumped down, and Percy handed Alia back to him.

'Into the woods?' Percy asked.

Matthias didn't have enough energy to answer, but it didn't matter. He and Percy were already stumbling into the underbrush. Matthias was so exhausted that his legs seemed to be moving of their own will. Branches lashed against his face, but he barely noticed. As long as they didn't hurt Alia, he didn't care.

'Matthias?' Percy said after some time had passed.

'Matthias? I don't think anyone followed us. We're safe now. We can stop and rest.'

Matthias sank to his knees, still cradling Alia's body against his chest. The woods around him were light now; the sun had risen fully while Matthias wasn't looking, wasn't thinking, wasn't conscious of anything except the need to hold on to Alia and move forward. Only now did he finally dare to look down at Alia's face.

She had an open wound at her right temple, and blood matted in her hair. Her skin was so pale, it frightened him.

'Why won't she wake up?' he asked Percy. 'What if—?' He forced the words out. 'What if she dies?'

'She won't,' Percy said fiercely. 'We'll find someone to help.'

Matthias began struggling to get back on his feet, but his legs felt useless now, his arms could no longer lift Alia.

'Stop it,' Percy said. 'You're too tired. You'll drop her, and that will be worse. Get some sleep and we'll walk more later. I'll watch over Alia.'

Matthias wanted to protest, to tell Percy, No, let's keep going. But his eyes were already closing, his mind already slipping into a nightmare.

If Alia dies, he thought, with his last burst of consciousness, it will be my fault.

Chapter Four

When Matthias woke up, hours later, Percy was crouched beside him, staring off into space. Matthias would have expected Percy to say, Good morning, or Feeling better? or, best of all, Alia's going to be all right.

Instead, Percy blinked once and said in a flat voice, 'Samuel would have stopped and helped those other kids.'

Matthias felt as though Percy had stabbed him right through the heart. Of course Samuel would have helped the other kids injured by the falling tree — the kids injured because of Matthias plunging the nail into the tire. Even if it meant getting caught himself, Samuel would have I ended their wounds, stroked their brows, comforted I hem. Even if they were going to die anyway, he would have stayed by their side until the very end.

Oh, dear Lord, Matthias prayed. Did some of those kids die because of me?

'We could go back,' he said without much hope.

Percy shook his head.

'There were other trucks, remember? I'm sure the other drivers came back. It's too late now.'

Matthias winced. Those words hurt too. Too late, too late. . He'd made a decision in a split second, when he wasn't thinking of anyone but himself and Percy and Alia. His aching hand clenched, like he was still holding the nail, still had a chance to make a different decision. A deci^ sion that wouldn't leave any innocent children dead.

But it was too late.

'And Alia?' he whispered. 'Is she—?'

'She's still sleeping,' Percy said, pointing.

Matthias raised himself on one elbow so he could see the little girl, lying flat on her back on a bed of leaves nearby.

'She's unconscious,' he corrected Percy.

'Same thing,' Percy said.

'No.' Matthias shook his head. Why didn't Percy understand? Sleep was what healthy children did when they were tired. Unconscious was someone sick, someone on the verge of death.

'I washed her wounds,' Percy said. 'I tore off a piece of her nightgown for a bandage for her head. I made sure it was a clean part of the nightgown.'

Like that's going to matter, Matthias thought.

Percy was looking at Matthias strangely.

'I don't think any of the Population Police saw us escape,' Percy said. 'No one followed us. I found a stream with clear water and a tree that had all sorts of nuts underneath it. It wasn't hard to get them open with a rock. So we have food.'