Earthseed

know who to trust now.” She leaned forward. “They don’t belong here. They don’t have the right.”
    “Do you think they’ll help me?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “Bonnie, if I don’t get back to Ho with supplies by the day after tomorrow, the others are in trouble.”
    “Well, I don’t know how you’re going to get any without the old people finding out.”
    “Are they really old?” Zoheret asked, wondering what an aged person was like in the flesh.
    “Some have wrinkles. A couple of the men look like they’re losing some hair. One woman told me she was thirty when she was suspended.”
    Leaves rustled nearby. Zoheret tensed, glancing toward the sound. A young deer scurried away, and she relaxed. “I have to talk to Lillka.”
    Bonnie wrapped her arms around her legs. “I don’t know if you should. Lillka’s really fascinated by them—she keeps following them around to ask about Earth. I told you she was a bad leader. She doesn’t stand up to them. If you talk to her, she’ll just tell you to come out and ask them to help.”
    “You think I shouldn’t.”
    “I told you—I don’t know what to think. I don’t trust them. I was talking to this woman, the one I mentioned before—her name’s Petra. She asked me about Willem, and I explained, and she said, ‘How unfortunate,’ and there was something about the way she said it that gave me a chill. And then she said, ‘We’ll take care of that.’ I don’t like it. I don’t know why.”
    “Maybe she knows how to cure him.”
    “You don’t cure someone like Willem.” Bonnie pulled at a blade of grass, twisting it around in her fingers. “Maybe they would help you. They could sneak up on Ho. They have plenty of stuff to do it with—I saw their weapons. They have more than we did. They thought they might need them for protection against animals.”
    “But I have to meet Ho alone, on that island on the lake, and I can’t bring anyone with me—he’ll see if I do. And I don’t know where his group is staying, or where he’s holding the others. What am I going to do?”
    “The strangers will go after Ho eventually,” Bonnie answered. “They know about him and his gang—Lillka told them when they asked about the burned field. And they’ll start looking for you, too, when you don’t turn up.”
    “Did Lillka tell them where we were going?”
    “Yes, but I don’t think she told them why—she didn’t want them to know Ship was acting strange. But they’ll find out—someone’ll tell them. By the way, did you get to the corridors?”
    “We got there. Ho caught us afterward.”
    “Did you find anything?”
    “No.” The denial was out almost before Zoheret had time to think. She could not burden Bonnie with knowledge of the corridor dwellers, especially if there was a chance the strangers might get that information from the other girl. “Ship just didn’t want us back there—it didn’t want us getting into old habits by being in that environment again.” She hoped she sounded convincing.
    “It could have said so—it didn’t have to be so dramatic.” Bonnie turned toward her. “You’ve got some time. We all figured you’d stay in the corridors a while before coming back. What are you going to do?”
    “Bonnie, I have to trust you. You’ve seen these Earthpeople. What would you do?”
    “I wouldn’t trust them. And you’re right about one thing—if they go after Ho, the kids he’s caught could get hurt before they catch him.” She stood up. “I have to go—they’ll wonder where I am. They’ve been watching us—that’s another reason I don’t trust them.”
    “Can you come back later?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “I need food.” Guiltily she thought of her captive comrades.
    “I’ll try. I can’t promise.”
    “I’ll wait over there, in the woods.”

    It was night before Zoheret heard the sound of approaching people along the bank. The dim light revealed two shadowy shapes.
    “Zoheret.” It was Bonnie’s whispery voice. “I’ve brought Brendan—it’s all right, you can trust him.” She came toward the trees and handed Zoheret meat, bread, and a bottle.
    Zoheret grabbed the food, stuffing it down before gulping the fruit juice. When she had finished eating, Brendan said, “Bonnie told me everything. No one else knows.”
    “Not even Lillka?”
    “Especially not Lillka.” The pair sat down near her. “I don’t like what’s going on, and she knows it. Those people …” He