I stare at Theo, as all kinds of emotions ghost over his face. The girl, Olivia, steps closer again and puts a hand on his arm. He looks so tense, I fear he might shatter, but this time he merely wraps his arm around her as if he needs physical support to remain standing.

“Theo? Did you just call that woman ‘Andy?’” she asks, eyeing me with obvious apprehension.

“I did.” Theo studies me from head to toe, moves over to Zoya and Miranda and then back to me. “It’s insane. You—you’re alive.”

“Yes.” I can barely breathe, and if that doesn't change soon, I’m going to faint from asphyxiation. “I—I’ve been looking for you.”

“But—where—” He’s sounds so dumbfounded, and downright nauseous, I feel sorry for him. “What are you doing here? I mean, here, exactly?” Theo remains where he is, keeping his distance, but unless I’m imagining things, his grip of the spear has loosened marginally.

“I can answer all those questions,” Miranda says calmly. “We have a few questions of our own. Andrea especially as she’s been on a mission to find you for the last fifteen years.” 

Perhaps it’s just because I know Miranda’s tone so well by now, that I heard the warning in her voice. She’s telling Theo to be mindful of his words, and as much as I understand her protectiveness, I don’t want her to alienate him. What if he retreated to the forest again and disappeared again?

I realize I’m panicking and considering an unlikely scenario. Theo can’t take his eyes off me, and the idea that he’d leave without getting some answers to his questions, is doubtful.

“Wait. Andy. Andrea.” Olivia blinks. “Is this…is this your sister? That Andy? But she doesn’t look like her.”

What? I jerk as if someone slapped me hard, and Miranda pulls me closer. 

“What are you talking about…Olivia, was it?” Miranda snaps. Yes. Her command persona waits just beneath her skin to appear. 

“All of Theo’s drawings. He’s drawn his sister from memory so many times, I know exactly what she looks like.” Olivia closes her eyes briefly and sighs. “Sorry. Looked like, fifteen years ago.”

“To a child of six years old,” Miranda murmurs. “But you know it’s her, don’t you, Theodor.” It clearly isn’t a question and yet Theo’s nodding slowly.

“Yes,” he says, his voice husky. “It’s her. It’s you. I see it. Your eyes. Your nose, lips, and…”

I smile. I can’t help it. My lips tremble and my tears cling to my lashes, but I can’t stop it, no matter that we’re in the middle of a mission. 

“…and, oh God, that smile.” Theo drops the spear and begins walking toward me. “Andy.” He’s shaking, and I don’t see this beautiful young man, but a cute little six-year-old rascal that are missing a tooth and waiting for the tooth fairy to add to his finances. 

“Theo.” I feel Miranda’s hand move to the small of my back, still supporting me, but then falling away as my now very tall brother lifts me up in the mother of all bear hugs. He hides his face against me, and it takes me a few moments before I realize he’s weeping.

“God, Andy.” He sobs against me, and I shove my fingers into his long hair, holding him close. 

“I f-found you.” My teeth are clattering. “Finally. I promised Mom I would.”

We’re standing there until Theo’s arms give in under my weight and he lets my feet touch the ground. All I can do is stare at him. He’s the only one I see for a while, and somewhere in my turbulent mind, I hear Miranda’s voice.

“Andrea never gave up, no matter how many times people told her it was a lost cause. She promised your mother, and no matter where she is or what she’s doing, you’re never far from her thoughts.” 

“It’s crazy.” Theo’s voice comes to me in strange waves. For several moments, it this new baritone voice, and then it shifts in the back of my mind to the proud first grader’s lisp.

“Theo has always talked about his sister.” Olivia’s voice has gone from sounding sharp and suspicious, to, if not friendly exactly, then at least polite, and respectful. “I’ve always thought it was because he wanted to encourage us, his followers, to embrace our past as well as our future. Now I see there’s more to it.”

Running footfalls make me snap out of my daze, as I’m conditioned to be alert. I turn my head back over my shoulder and see Tom approach us, running as fast as he can.

“Now what?” Miranda motions for me to follow and we meet him halfway. “Report.”

“More people are exiting the forest to the northeast. We can’t tell if they’re friendlies or—”

“It’s all right,” Theo says, and there is no trace of tears in his voice now. “They’re with me. I’ve seen an influx of members in the last two months, as the spring chores on the farm have been brutal. A lot of refugees.”

Miranda frowns. “You call your people followers, Theodor. What exactly do they follow?” She’s not going to be biased like I’m bound to be, that’s obvious. I can’t blame her. It dawns on me that even if he’s my younger brother, I don’t know him at all. I have no idea what kind of experiences might have forged him into this formidable looking man at only twenty-two.

“They follow the road to freedom. They join my camps of their own free will, and they can leave whenever they want. I was a worker here once, and on a few other farms, which means I know what it’s like to freeze in the barns in the winter and fear arbitrary punishments.” Theo meets Miranda’s gaze. “There’s nothing nefarious about my community. We try to liberate the ones who want to leave but can’t for some reason, but mostly, we welcome and keep the ones on the run safe.”

“Sounds admirable.” Miranda purses her lips, and she’s turned to keep an eye on the newcomers from the northeast. “As I said, I have additional forces arriving shortly. We’re going to address the new arrangement with the old leaders, and I suppose we’ll have to hold some form of election to make sure the ones left in charge of the farms are someone a bit more humane.”

“Are you talking about democratic elections?” Olivia asks, obviously stunned.

“Yes, in a sense. On a very local level. We need the farms to keep being active and produce food. Even expand, in the long run. But this is not the time to discuss this just yet. We have to go take care of the so-called leadership and their cohorts in crime from other farms.” Miranda turned to walk away, but then stopped and swiveled back to look at Theo. “I want you to know that Andrea is important to me, personally. As you’re her brother, I’m willing to extend this to you, to a degree. Don’t disappoint me.” She nodded briskly and then she walked with Tom toward the gate where her people held the ‘visiting’ farmers at gunpoint.

“Damn.” Olivia looked between Theo and me. “She’s…something. And obviously she’s not above slicing someone off at the ankles if she thought they’d hurt you.” 

“Same goes the other way around,” I say and know it’s the truth. “As you’ve brought a whole bunch of extra hands, would you be willing to help us find out as much as possible regarding these farms? That way you’ll give us a head start.”

“If that in turn means we can spread our message of freedom to the rest of the farms.” The way Theo speaks now erases most of my vision of him as a little boy, as he’s actually quite formidable where he stands in his leather outfit, with the wind in his hair. “I’m not going to suggest to anyone that they change one leader for another if it still means following someone blindly.”

“Fair enough. Let’s catch up with Miranda…the colonel.” I begin to walk back to the yard, and when Theo and Olivia follow me, the ones on horseback dismount and do the same.

#

Tatiana stands in the doorway to the main building. “I can’t,” she whispers.

“Sure, you can,” Theo says and extends a hand through the door opening. “Just take a deep breath and step inside. Kenneth and his family have been placed in house arrest in one of the old houses by the road—at least for now. There’s no one here who will hurt you.”

Tatiana slowly takes Theo’s hand with trembling fingers and then leaps into the foyer. Her mouth is half open and she breathes too fast, but I don’t blame her. 

The first floor of the house is all open plan, and I’m sitting on a stool by a fancy kitchen island. I find it oddly pretentious, as I much prefer Emma’s wooden kitchen table, but the marble top is stunning. I have to admit as much.

Now I pat the stool to my left, as Miranda is occupying the one on my right. Zoya is sitting behind me, curiously studying everyone. “Here, Tatiana. Take a seat.”

Tatiana climbs the stool, and I can tell from her rigid movements that she’s never done this before. She glances at Zoya with scared eyes. “Is he friendly?” 

“She is very friendly unless I tell her differently. Her name is Zoya.” I introduce my dog and persuade Tatiana to hold out her hand for Zoya to sniff. I get flashbacks of that first night when Zoya decided to take a liking to Miranda, and I asked her if my dog could kiss her. 

“Now that seems familiar.” Miranda chuckles quietly.

“I thought the same thing,” I respond. 

After closing the door behind the last people, all current workers from this particular farm, soldiers, and some more of Theo’s people. All in all, we’re twenty-four people in the combined kitchen-living room area of the main building.

Tom has found different beverages in the cabinets, and even ice in the freezer, which means these farmers have access to some serious solar power, or perhaps even a wind turbine. He serves everyone cool water and juice after saying, “Better not try to hand out the bottles marked 66%. God knows what that’d lead to.”

Miranda introduces herself again to those who weren’t there when she addressed Theo and Olivia. She runs through her and her units’ plans to jumpstart a civilized, lawful society. The usual questions regarding military ran governments, etcetera, are raised and she answers them the same way she once did when I asked. 

It’s obvious to Andy that Theo is the unchallenged leader of the ones who had escaped the fascist farmers. Some had arrived from other places, but they all seem to have been subjected to harsh, inhumane treatment. I think back to the years in the Hudskills, where I’ve felt entirely safe until I decided to move out when I was seventeen. That’s when I learned that looking for Theo was going to be dangerous, painful, and heartbreaking. I could have ended up in Theo’s group if I had come across it before Ogden gave me Zoya.

Zoya, who now pads over to Theo and sits in front of him, looking expectantly at him. He raises his eyebrows at me, and I make a patting motion against the marble countertop. 

Theo lowers his hand carefully and scratches behind her left ear, and I swear my dog smiles at my brother. Can she feel we’re connected, this young man and me? I wouldn’t be surprised.

After some heated discussion, when Theo’s people raise some valid issues about ‘sharing one boss for another’ and how that would be better for anyone—and Miranda’s calm suggestion about resurrecting the democratic way to choose a leader. It’s comical how everyone looks at Theo at the same time, and it makes Miranda chuckle.

“I think you’re it, bro,” I say without thinking about my choice of words. 

“Seems like it, sis,” Theo says, and even if he smiles, there’s infinite sorrow in his eyes. I know why. Yes. I found him, but I was dead to him, literally, for fifteen years. He never even contemplated that I could be alive. In his mind, from what I understand, he lost his mother and sister within days of each other. I haven’t asked about Antonio yet, or what he remembers from the last weeks in their apartment. I figure if he wants me to know, he’ll tell me. Same goes for me. I’m not going to shove the fact that I rolled mom into a fluffy rug, down his throat.

Of course we don’t reach full consensus during this first meeting, merely a ‘for now’ agreement and a provisional committee that will keep the discussions going, and report back to the three groups. 

When I walk outside, mainly because I can’t take it being in the main house any longer, since I have a strange feeling that the previous owner’s evil has permeated the walls, it’s dark. Campfires light up the yard and the closest field. Soldiers have put up tents and I see smoke coming from the stoves inside that heated them and allowed the inhabitants to heat up water and food.

“That’s ours.” Miranda pointed to a smaller tent among the others. “It has a heater, but it’s small enough I don’t feel guilty for commandeering it just for us and Zoya. We’ll be on sentry duty at 0300 hours. Tom will wake us.”

“Sounds good.” I’m relieved that I don’t have to be among a bunch of soldiers in one of the communal tents that can hold up to twenty people. “Actually, it sounds great.” I nudge her hand with mine.

“I figured you’d benefit from some downtime to collect your thoughts. We can talk if you like, or we can just…rest.” The way Miranda’s voice catches, makes my mind do a ninety-degree turn. It’s not that Theo leaves my thoughts, but this is Miranda, and she’s looking at me with a mix of caution, reassurance, and tenderness—and that’s just as important. I can’t lose this, whatever we’re heading toward.

I lower my voice to a mere whisper. “I like that it’s going to be just us. I need to collect my thoughts, as you said—and I want you there with me, if possible.”

“Oh, trust me, darling. I’ll make it possible.” Miranda smiles.

We make our rounds, and I see most of Theo’s people go back into the forest. He’s staying behind with Olivia and two others, and they don’t appear to have any qualms about staying at the house. On the contrary, especially Olivia seems to be quite gleeful at the idea of sleeping in one of the former occupants’ beds. 

After making sure that those who are incarcerated for now, and this includes the most vocal and belligerent of the ones that arrived at the gate to cause trouble, are comfortable, but secured, we say goodnight and retire. The woman and the three children we came across on the way to the farm are taken care of in the infirmary tent by Doctor Apple’s best medics. 

“We need to send a message to Ogden and Emma tomorrow,” I say as we enter the tent. “I have to let them know, even if I’d rather tell them in person. Perhaps we can have one of the medics go with them and let the woman and the children go with them?”

“I have given it some thought as well. Either we send them like you just said, or we start up a permanent infirmary here. My other two units are only one of two days away from Remerton, and I think placing one of them here, and using this farm as a base, will go a long way creating stability. One of the units also have a trained physician, albeit not as experienced as Apple.” Miranda looked at one of the two cots in the tent. “Not like your bed under the stairs, that’s for sure.”

“Would you prefer to sleep in the house?” I hope not, but I’m prepared to, for her sake.

“No. I want you to myself, to be honest,” Miranda murmurs. “Push your cot up to mine. It won’t be the same as spooning in your lovely bed, but close enough.”

My heart races at her words. Miranda’s tone is light, but her eyes are dark, and she keeps looking at my lips. I feel it’s time for me to be more of an instigator. “May I kiss you?” I whisper.

Miranda has just turned to adjust our sleeping bags, and now she straightens. “Oh, yes.”

I wrap my arms around her and pull her close, not bothering with the fact that we’re fully geared up. I press my lips to hers, and then her tongue is in my mouth and all I can do is return the kisses, one after another. She clings to me, and murmurs inaudible words against my lips and, later, the skin on my neck. 

“Miranda?” I whisper. “I can’t make out what you’re saying.”

“I’m…trying to tell you…that I can’t imagine my life…without you…” Miranda murmurs between the kisses and she holds me so tight, it makes the flak vest dig into my ribs—not that I care. 

“I feel the same way,” I whisper. “I care so much about you, and I want to go where you go.”

Miranda hums against my skin and then finds my mouth again. After kissing me senseless, she pulls back enough to look at me. “And Theo?”

I know what she’s asking. “I still can’t fathom that we found him. He seems like a great guy with a social pathos, just like Mom. He’s got a good thing going.”

“But?” Miranda frames my face with her hands.

“We have some catching up to do, and I know, for me, that it has to happen in stages. Not all at once. I can’t handle that. We found him. I kept my promise to Mom…and I hope she can rest now, wherever she is. I hope she’s…proud.” I hiccup and tears begin to run again. “I hope Theo and I can be close, once we have worked out all these emotions and unreal sensations.” I turn my head and press my lips to Miranda’s right palm. “I have the strangest feeling—like I lost weight of something. Buyant. That’s what I mean. I also know that I want to be where you are. We’ll both get the chance to get to know my brother, but the fact is, I have a father, and I have a little sister, who has loved me for fifteen years. They—and you—come first. 

“Andrea…” Miranda holds me tight and unless I’m hallucinating, I’m certain I hear her sob and strain to breath for a few moments. “For the first time in a very, very long time, I dare to dream about personal happiness.”

“Same.” I stand in her embrace, until we decide that we might as well lie down. 

Still holding hands, we’re facing each other on the small, hard cots, and I keep kissing Miranda’s fingers. “Sleep tight. We have five hours until it’s our watch,” I murmur.

“Don’t let go.” Miranda runs her thumb along the back of my hand. 

I smile even if my lips tremble. “Never”