“Mom, I heard you talking with that guy, but that’s not it. I haven’t told you what I know either.”
Tabitha’s eyes narrow. “What do you know?”
Pulling her tablet out of the back waistband of her pants, she swipes it into life. The photos she’s compiled into a vast array are already up on the screen. Handing the tablet to her mother, she says, “The pictures of the new town for women are probably faked. Or, if not faked, then a mix of real photos so you can’t see where they’re really from.”
Her mother looks confused as she moves the giant collage around on the screen, focusing on one random picture and then the next.
Snatching it back, Charlotte shifts to the first picture she noticed, the one with the advertisement for their store. Shoving it back, she says, “Recognize anything?”
It only takes a few seconds for Tabitha to see it. She points, then examines the rest of the image. “I see what you mean. That can’t be anywhere you rode. Those trees, no stadium, no big parking lot. Unless—”
“No,” Charlotte says, interrupting. “They didn’t tear down one to put the houses there. I checked. All of the ones I rode at are still there. Mostly abandoned now, but there.”
Her mother looks disappointed, but after hearing what was said in the stable office, Charlotte figures it can’t be a surprise.
“You didn’t know?” Charlotte asks.
With a sigh, Tabitha hands the tablet back, then says, “No. I mean I suspected that it wasn’t all we were promised, but I did think they were creating something. They have to put the women they don’t…well, some women will have to be left to raise the kids and such.”
“Maybe they are doing that. Or maybe it’s just another camp, except a little nicer. Who knows? But this,” she emphasizes the word with a shake of her tablet, “is a lie. No question. I have hundreds of images I managed to parse out enough to match them up.”
“Hundreds?”
Charlotte nods. “Yeah. But that’s one thing and I heard what you said in the office. That’s something else altogether. What’s going on?”
This question makes Tabitha uncomfortable and Charlotte can read it like a book. Her mother’s arms squeeze to her sides and her hands press flat on the table. She doesn’t want to tell Charlotte, so, it’s up to her to force the issue.
“I heard you talking about life support pods and baby production. I know what that means, Mom. But I’d like to hear it. And how did you find out? And who’s Rick?”
Tabitha gives in right then. That’s something Charlotte can also see happen. “It’s a long story.”
“And I’m sitting right here listening,” Charlotte says.
“Alright, you win. I didn’t want you to hear about this. I wanted to get you out of here and someplace safe so you’d never have to know.”
“But, here we are and it is what it is.”
“Charlie, do you remember Maria?” Tabitha asks.
“Sure. Tandy’s mom. I was just talking to Sarah about her,” Charlotte answers.
“Well, some of us felt like it was…odd…that we didn’t get email or letters from people who left. Yes, they created the blog, but that’s not the same. We’re all pretty close here, right?”
Charlotte nods, but doesn’t speak. It’s true.
“Maria and I worked out a system. If she left and all really was well, then she’d post some specific words on the blog. Not normal words, but words that wouldn’t likely come up in a regular post. That would tell me things were fine. She would post other words if something was wrong. With me so far?”
“Sure,” Charlotte says, but since she already had her suspicions, she adds, “She didn’t post either set of words, did she?”
Tabitha shakes her head. “No, she didn’t.”
“Because she didn’t write the posts.”
“No, Charlie, I don’t think she did.”
It’s the confirmation she’s been looking for. If she’d been thinking more clearly back when Tandy left, which was before the effects of the pills had worn off, she might have arranged something similar. It doesn’t change anything, and it doesn’t answer the question entirely.
“So who is Rick, other than the feed delivery guy, and how did he get tied up in this?” Charlotte asks.
Again Tabitha looks around, then leans close. “Rick is a horse guy. That’s all. But, he’s also a good man and not involved in whatever this camp is really about. He and I started talking. Eventually, he told me that someone out west has started something they call the Tribe. Women who live in the mountains. No one knows much about it other than rumor, but he’s a part of a group trying to create something just like it in the Appalachian range. He won’t say where, but they’ve managed to free nineteen women and girls. They provide the supply chain for them.”
“Free women? No hiding?”
“Well, yes, they’re hiding in the mountains, but they’re free all the same.”
“And the life support pods. How did that come up?”
“Rick’s group was trying to track the transports leaving this place, looking for good intercept points. The problem was they went to an airport, but there were no flight logs for the flights. It took time, but they got some kind of tracking unit on one of the flights. Where they’re going is a hospital, but one that’s been closed down and now, in use only for the women who leave this place.”
“Oh no…”
Tabitha reaches out and strokes Charlotte’s sweat dampened hair. “Don’t panic, honey. Just listen and know I’ll take care of this. No matter what.”
“Okay,” Charlotte says, doing her best to stem the tide of chemicals rushing through her system, the ones that tell her to fight or fly away.
“The next time a group was brought, they managed to get a better view of the situation. The women were already asleep when they arrived. A medical engineer got a good look at their system. I think we can figure out the rest.”
“They’re putting them
