Earthseed

then dropped a pair of moccasins at her side. “Put them on.”
    “I can’t while my legs are still tied.”
    He pulled out his knife and cut the ropes at her ankles and wrists quickly, then backed away. “Go on, get dressed.” The pants were patched at the knees with leather, frayed at the cuffs, and too loose at the waist; she made a belt of a piece of rope. The moccasins were too tight; she wriggled her toes, hoping they would stretch.
    Manuel gave them cakes and water for breakfast; Owen forced them to relieve themselves under his contemptuous gaze. Ho began to give instructions to his subordinates. “Listen. You’ll have to ration the food left in the packs, so be careful. Feed the prisoners once a day and yourselves twice. If you fish, make sure you can’t be seen from the shore, and I don’t want a fire here—it might give you away.”
    “Why feed them at all?” Owen asked.
    “Because I said so. Because I don’t want Zoheret here to get so worried about them that she does something stupid and lands me in trouble. And don’t slap them around, either. They might try something if you do.”
    Manuel said, “I’ll look out for them.”
    “No, you won’t. You’re coming with us.”
    Manuel’s eyes widened. Zoheret’s spirits sank. There was no chance for her friends now unless she brought Ho back safely.
    Ho motioned to Manuel, who picked up one of the packs after removing some of the provisions. “Now,” Ho continued, “if I’m not back here in three days, take them to our base—Vittorio will be back here by then with a couple of extra boats and some more help. And if I’m not back during the next three days—well, then you have to decide what to do by yourselves. If you come after me, be careful.”
    “What about them?” Owen jerked his head in the prisoners’ direction.
    Ho shrugged. “You can do what you want then.” Owen grinned. Zoheret looked back at Dmitri; he smiled, trying to seem unconcerned.
    “Come on.” Ho led Manuel and Zoheret toward the trees. Daniella trailed after Ho, as if wanting to speak. “Remember what I told you,” Ho muttered without turning his head.
    “Don’t worry,” Daniella answered, and turned back to the clearing.
    “You’re so clever,” Zoheret said to Ho after they reached the cove. They scampered down the rocks toward the hidden boats. “If anything happens to my friends now, it’s out of your hands—at least that’s what you’re thinking. But I’ll know. I’ll know it was your responsibility.”
    “You’re wrong,” he said as they pushed a boat into the water. “It’ll be yours. You just do what you’re supposed to, and we’ll head for the corridors if I find you were telling the truth—I can have Ship signal with its sensors when we get there. And your friends can go where they like.”
    “Owen might not listen to Ship. You’ll have to come back here yourself.”
    Manuel threw the pack into the boat. Zoheret climbed in and sat in the bow while Manuel took the oars, his back to her. Ho pushed the boat off and hopped into the stern.
    “You shouldn’t have left Owen on the island,” Manuel said.
    “Better to have him there than in camp. Daniella and Gene will watch him.”
    “And better to have me with you.”
    “Right.”
    Zoheret rested her hands on the gunwales, weary of Ho’s constant need for dominance. For a moment, she almost hoped that he would be caught by the strangers in the settlement. “Why can’t you trust me?” she asked, knowing even as she said it that Ho could trust no one—not even Manuel and Owen, his supposed friends. “Why can’t you take my word?”
    “I can’t, that’s all.” She wondered if he wished that he could.

    Manuel was a strong rower. Ho studied the water, guiding Manuel away from the strong current. They traveled up the river until the banks began to grow steep.
    “This is far enough,” Ho said. They drifted toward the bank and pulled the boat out, then gathered fallen branches. When the boat was concealed, Ho stood beside it, hands on hips. “Which way do you think we should approach?” he asked Zoheret.
    “They’d see us on the plain. We’ll have to go up through the woods.”
    “You probably laid a trap there.”
    “How could I lay a trap when I didn’t want you to come back here in the first place?”
    “Maybe you knew I’d check. Maybe Owen was right, and it’s a trick. Just remember what’ll happen to you and your friends if you lied.” He paused.