Almost Human Read online

  “I haven’t been able to get it to work,” Jacob said in a low tone. “But I found something else.”

  “What?”

  “It’s outside. Come on.”

  They grabbed their torches and ascended the ladder to the ground floor. Scout tried to hide his nervous excitement, biting his lip to suppress a grin. “What is it?” he asked as they headed toward the door.

  “Be patient,” Jacob replied. He pushed open the doors, snuffing out his torch as he stepped outside. “It’s just on the other side of the fence.”

  Scout followed Jacob through the gate and stopped. “Enough already. What is it?”

  Jacob pointed to a wheelbarrow tipped to its side with the wheel hanging on. Inside of it were a few blue tiled squares, measuring two feet around. Scout had never seen them before but he’d heard enough about them. He gulped and slowly approached the cart. “Solar panels?” he asked under his breath.

  “Yep. I only brought the two but there’s at least a hundred back at the site.”

  Scout ran his fingers across the smooth surface and grinned. The idea of limitless power was something he could barely fathom. Stepping beyond electricity and harnessing the power of the sun, it was a dream to Scout, an impossible dream.

  Scout smiled then turned back to his friends. “Where is this site at?”

  Jacob looked to Devin and Cayden and they exchanged awkward faces.

  “What?”

  “Well,” Devin started. “We told you it’s a government site.”

  “Okay?”

  “And it’s restricted.”

  “Yeah?”

  “It’s in the middle ground,” Jacob said succinctly. “And before you say anything, you have to ask yourself, do you want that thing to fly or not?”

  “Have you guys all gone mad? You know what happens to people they find in the middle ground. Do you want to end up like the Oliver’s?”

  Scout was referencing a husband and wife team of researchers that had gone missing two years earlier. For months no one had a clue what had become of them. It was only speculation that they’d gone to the middle ground. But when their adult son found their journal, detailing their plans, the delegates were quick to sweep in and cover everything up. Soon the son went missing as well and people stopped talking about them all together.

  “We’re already living on the edge, Scout,” Cayden chimed in. “What do you think they’ll do when they find out you’ve got a spaceship in that barn? The point is, if we get caught, we’re screwed no matter what.”

  Scout placed the solar panel on the ground and stood up. “I don’t know. It just seems too dangerous. Let’s move all of this stuff inside. I feel like someone is watching us.”

  Cayden and Devin laughed but Jacob stared toward the surrounding trees and swallowed. He mumbled something under his breath then grabbed one of the panels and started toward the barn.

  “Everything okay?” Scout asked.

  “Yeah…yeah,” he replied and took one last look over his shoulder.

  CHAPTER 3

  THE VOTE THAT CHANGED THE WORLD

  The next morning Scout woke up to the sound of Marshall’s roosters, croaking through his open window. He sat up in bed then jumped as he realized his dad was standing over him. “What are you doing?” he asked as casually as he could.

  “Get your shoes on and meet me downstairs,” his dad replied curtly then turned and walked out of the room.

  Scout swallowed and his heart ticked up the pace. He racked his brain, trying to figure out what he could’ve done. His father wasn’t a morning person, so it had to be pretty bad if he was out of bed before Scout was.

  In the back of Scout’s head, he entertained the idea that his father had found the barn. But he knew that wasn’t possible. His reaction would’ve been a million times worse and Scout wasn’t convinced that his dad wouldn’t have turned him into the trackers.

  Confused, Scout quickly threw on some shorts and laced up his shoes. He hurried down the stairs and found his father standing on the porch staring out into the yard.

  “I’m here,” Scout announced.

  “Come with me.”

  His dad headed off into the field at a deliberate pace. Scout watched him for a moment, then hurried after him with a nervous gait.

  “Where are we going?” Scout asked once he neared him.

  “Be quiet.”

  “Dad, what’s going on?”

  “I said be quiet.”

  Directly in front of their house there was a sparse forest, if you could call it that. The trees were thin and the grass was all but dead. It wasn’t much but if you went far enough, you could easily get lost.

  Scout’s dad walked into the forest for a half a mile before he stopped. Scout almost ran into him as he stared at the ground, counting his steps.

  “You went out last night?” his father asked in a booming voice.

  “Huh?” Scout replied in shock as he choked on his heart.

  “Last night, you weren’t in your room. Did you go out?”

  Scout tried to think fast. Could he make up a believable lie that wouldn’t crumble under pressure? Or was it too late and he just needed to tell the truth? What was the harm in a little of both?

  “Yeah…yeah I went out.”

  His father nodded. “I’m not gonna ask you where you went. Truth is, I don’t care. It’s good to explore, get into a little trouble every now and again at your age.”

  Scout breathed a shallow sigh of relief.

  “But…” his dad huffed and rubbed the stubble on his face. “But there are some things you need to know.”

  “Dad?”

  “I’ve been meaning to have this talk with you for a while. Um, I knew I’d always have to, just wanted to find the right time.”

  “Dad, what’s wrong?”

  “Well, me and your mom think that you’re old enough now. And if we don’t start talking about this pretty soon, you’ll have questions and might not get the right information.”

  Scout scratched his head and tried to calm his jittering legs as his nerves came back with a vengeance. His dad never spoke like that, never had heart to hearts or discussions that strayed far from facts and figures.

  “What you’re doing, Scout, you gotta make sure that you’re safe. Safety is always first.”

  “Dad? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Just listen. It’s normal to, to want that rush. That feeling of um, of freedom. Makes you feel like a man, doesn’t it?”

  Scout felt the color drain from his face and he covered his mouth. How much did his dad already know? Would his own dad turn him in? Were trackers already on the way?

  “Now, your mom wanted to talk to you but I told her I’d do it. So, I’m just gonna come right out and say it. Me and your mom were plenty young when we had you. We struggled early on. You know, being so young and all. It took us a while to find our footing and we just want to make sure you don’t have the same troubles we did.”

  “What?” Scout asked with a furrowed brow. “Dad, I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “So, you’re really gonna make me say it? Fine! This thing you have going on with Marshall’s daughter, you’ve gotta be careful. If you get that girl pregnant, Scout. It won’t be easy, it won’t be easy at all.”

  Scout started to smile, which quickly turned into all out laughter. His dad gave him a stern look and shook his head. “Scout, I’m serious, damn it!”

  “Dad, I promise you there is nothing going on with me and Wendy Marshall. Nothing at all.”

  “Scout, come on. You don’t have to lie to me. Besides, she’s already told us all about it. Look, I just want you to be careful.”

  “What? What did she tell you? I hardly know that girl.”

  “Okay, Scout. I didn’t bring you out here to make a big deal of it. Your mom wanted me to talk to you and I said I would.”

  “No, Dad. You don’t understand. I’m not seeing Wendy…like I
never see Wendy. What did she say?”

  “She told us about your late-night excursions through the fields and off to God only knows. I’m not angry, Scout. I think it’s good that there’s a girl around your age. I think it’s important that you learn how to build those connections. And who knows, maybe when school starts you take her to that dance for your last year.”

  Scout swallowed and lowered his gaze to the ground. He didn’t know what Wendy was playing at but he was gonna find out. In the meantime, there was no point in trying to convince his dad otherwise. He was honestly happy that it had nothing to do with the barn.

  “Dad, I um. Okay, Dad.”

  Scout’s dad smiled and patted his shoulder. “I’m glad we had this talk. You can head back home. I’ll be along in a bit.”

  Scout nodded and made his way back to the house. When he returned his mother was sitting on the porch with an ear to ear smile, beaming at him. He looked away and quickly rushed inside before she could say anything.

  “You were in trouble,” Anna teased as he headed up the stairs.

  “Like you would know.”

  “I do know. Mr. Marshall has been over here three times this week.”

  “Mind your business, Anna. Go play with the dirt or something.” Scout turned and headed for his room.

  Sighing, he plopped onto his bed and stared at the rotting boards that ran across the ceiling. He dreamed of what life was like before the dawn. What kids did to pass the time and how different they were from the kids now.

  He was entering his last year of school and had no clue what he was going to do with his life. His dad wanted him to enter the apprenticeship program at First Rock but Scout wanted nothing to do with it. Three years of learning woodwork, wielding, and basic metallurgy. He saw it as a giant waste of time. He wanted more, he wanted the stars, he wanted to live like they used to in the history books. But the delegates had all banned that.

  “Scout!” his dad shouted from below, pulling him from his daydream.

  With an exaggerated breath, Scout headed to the door and yelled back down the stairs, “Yeah?”

  “Get the horses ready. I’m heading into town to meet with Delegate Harold. I want you to come with me.”

  “Do I have to?”

  “It’ll be good for you…help you clear your mind.”

  “Let me grab my things.” Scout winced and whirled around, closing his door. He didn’t need to clear his mind and he knew that only meant more “talking” from his dad. His mom must’ve not been satisfied with how he returned. He was sure it was her idea because he could tell the first conversation was painful enough for his dad.

  Half an hour later, Scout was staring out over the empty field as he trailed behind his father. His horse, trotted along at a moderate pace but Scout made sure not to get too close. He didn’t want to rehash their discussion from earlier.

  It was a two-hour ride to First Rock and was usually uneventful. Scout and his dad normally talked about nonsense just to pass the time. But that day, Scout was trying his best to avoid any conversations at all.

  It’d been a few months since he’d last been into the city. When he was young, and didn’t understand much about the world, going to First Rock was a big event. He was amazed by all of the people and buildings. It was a drastic change from the farm life he’d known and the only time he got to see people he didn’t already now.

  Now going to First Rock had an entirely different feel. He’d learned too much to just marvel at three story wooden structures and not think about the towering skyscrapers that came before. The windmills and rudimentary plumbing meant little to him after he learned about ancient power grids and how men used to send water across the country, turning deserts into thriving cities.

  First Rock was now a place of contempt and hypocrisy. Where men that called themselves scientist and scholars chose to forgo all the inventions of their ancestors and live in medieval conditions. Now all Scout saw when he went to First Rock was failure.

  “There’s an important vote going on today. I think we’ll stop by the townhall to watch,” Scout’s dad said as he looked over his shoulder.

  “Do we have to?”

  “It’ll be good for you to see diplomacy in action.”

  “That’s not my thing, Dad.”

  “It could be. You’ll never know until you actually get involved, Scout.”

  “I want to be involved in other things.”

  “Oh yeah, like what?”

  Scout sighed. Conversations that started like this normally ended in some kind of argument. His dad wasn’t very openminded when it came to things that revolved around technology. It was taboo to basically everyone except Scout and his friends. “I want to be involved in getting things back to what they used to be like.”

  Scout’s dad knew the answer but he asked it anyway. “Used to be like when?”

  “Pre-dawn. Before everyone just gave up.”

  “Oh, and you think it was so much better then? You think technology made this world some kind of eutopia?”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “Of course, you wouldn’t say that, Scout. Because you don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

  “Oh, and you know, Dad?”

  Scout’s dad stopped his horse and turned around. He stared at Scout in silence, his brown eyes burning a hole straight through Scout’s face. He wasn’t a very large man but he had an intimidating presence when he wanted. Behind his gray and black stubble, his demeanor was always pensive. Like the surface of the ocean, hiding the terror underneath.

  “Sorry,” Scout mumbled and dropped his head.

  “There’s a lot you don’t know, Scout. The world wasn’t always like this. But that doesn’t mean technology was a good thing.”

  “Why not? You’ve never wanted to fly, Dad? You’ve never wanted to see what the rest of the world looks like?”

  “Of course. But you’ve gotta take the bad with the good. And it was a lot more bad. You’re too young to know but we tried to bring back electronics. Phones, radios, things called GPS…all of it.”

  “You’re talking about the renouncement,” Scout said with an exhausted tone.

  “Yeah, Scout, the renouncement, and don’t roll your eyes. I lost a lot of people I loved in that war, including your grandfather and your uncle. Show some respect.”

  “It’s not that. But why talk about the future? You always bring up the renouncement and shut everything else down.”

  Scout’s dad chewed the inside of his gum as he considered him. “Like I said, there’s a lot you don’t understand. Come on, I don’t want to miss the vote.” He turned his horse around and started back down the trail.

  The renouncement might as well have been ancient history as far as Scout was concerned. It was the last real war ever fought on earth. It ended twenty years early and was marked by bloodshed and ruined families. And it all started because one side wanted to bring back electricity.

  Scout sighed as they neared the city. He could see the great plumes of smoke spiraling into the air and hear the constant hustle that roared from the marketplace. First Rock moved at a different pace and the people that lived there were only concerned with one thing, themselves.

  The city just seemed to rise up from the dirt out of nowhere. From afar it didn’t look very big but as you crested the hill it was built upon you could get an appreciation for the size. The city was four square miles of shops, homes and a bustling market. Smack dab in the center was the townhall, where the delegates worked and past laws like the one outlawing all electricity. It also housed the holding cells in the basement. Trackers brought suspected criminals there to await trial. There were no long-term arrangements because you were either guilty enough to be sentenced or you were let free. And the only sentence the delegates ever handed out was death.

  “Hurry up,” Scout’s dad snapped as he tied his horse to the post just inside of the city.

  Scout nodded and slid off his horse and tied
a haphazard knot. “I’m ready.”

  “Vote now!” a man yelled from a platform in front of the produce market. “Don’t let them shut us up. Vote to keep your free speech!”

  “That’s what today’s vote is for?” Scout asked.

  “Yes, and we better hurry.” Scout’s dad turned and started down the gravel walkway.

  “Leo,” a high-pitched voice cried out. A stout man with a curly mustache waved his hand as he walked out of the barber shop.

  “Maxwell,” Scout’s dad said with a wide smile. “Long time no see.”

  “What are you doing in the city? Here for the vote I’m assuming?”

  “Of course. I wouldn’t miss it.”

  “And you brought your son,” Maxwell held his hand out. “Do you remember me, Scout?”

  Scout shook the man’s hand and nodded slightly. “I think so.”

  “Oh, don’t worry. It was a long time ago. Well, Leo, we better get moving. This is one we can’t leave up to chance.”

  Leo laughed. “That is for certain.” He looked over his shoulder at the man still screaming about voting.

  Together they made their way down the crowded walkways and through the busy market. Once they made it to the townhall there was a line building outside that wrapped around the building.

  “Follow me,” Maxwell said. He skipped the line and headed right up to the front. A man dressed in denim jeans with a black shirt and hat, held a hand out then recognized Maxwell’s face and stepped to the side.

  “Come right in, sir,” the man said. He gave Scout and his dad an odd look as they passed but didn’t stop them.

  “You’ve made a great living here, Maxwell,” Leo said as they headed down a wide hall toward the auditorium.

  “Being on Delegate Harold’s good side has it’s benefits,” he replied with a smile. “I’m sure you know about them.”

  Leo didn’t reply as he cast a wary eye toward Scout. Following behind Maxwell, they entered the packed auditorium and found a seat in the middle of the room.

  “Speaking of Harold, he tells me you’re working on something special,” Maxwell whispered.

  Leo grinned. “It is special.”

  “Perhaps something you can go into detail about…for old times’ sake?”