The Aegis Solution (64 page)

To her left, the crowd parted and, in a moment, Elias and Leah worked their way through to the
front. As soon as she saw Leah, she ran forward, throwing her arms around her friend. Despite her
earlier promise to herself, Tillie began to cry, her shoulders heaving with each sob. Leah responded in
kind as Elias stood quietly to the side.

After a minute or two had passed, Tillie took a step back from Leah and looked at Elias, tears
streaming freely down her face. Taking a deep breath, trying to calm the spasms in her diaphragm, she
finally spoke. "I wanted to tell you…you're off the hook."

Elias, momentarily confused, answered, "Off the hook? What…?"

Dragging the sleeve of her shirt across her face, she explained, "Your promise. It's over and done.
I'm releasing you from it."

"Tillie, I still don't understand."

Valiantly trying to put a smile on her face, she replied softly, "You don't have to try to be Bruce
Willis anymore."

In his eyes, she could see that he was flashing back to that day, so long ago, in her den. He tried
to speak but the effort was derailed by the quivering in his lower lip. Without waiting another moment,
she rushed against him, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding him tightly. He held her in a
bear hug.

They stood together for a long time, neither wanting to break the moment. When, at last, they
parted, Elias reached up and held her face in his hands, finally finding his voice. "I will be back. I…I
promise."

Tillie only nodded, afraid to say another word. Elias turned to Wilson and shook his hand. "I will
see you soon, my friend."

"Be safe, Elias. Both of you."

Leah gave Wilson an emotional hug. As she did, she whispered in his ear, "Please keep an eye on
our friend here, will you?"

Wilson nodded.

Elias and Leah moved toward the exit, which was now wide open, the frigid wind whipping into
the enclosed space with a howl. As they proceeded, all of the friends they had made during their days
in Aegis were lined up to shake their hands, hug them, and wish them luck. It seemed as if the entire
population of Aegis was crowded into the hallway behind Wilson, having come to see them off.

When they reached the door, Crabill was standing in the wind, a forced grin on his face. "I went
out to the parking lot and found the truck with the most gas and jumped the battery. She's running and
all warmed up for you."

"Jay," Leah said, "you shouldn't have gone out there."

He shrugged and answered, "It's the least I could do. Besides, I didn't want the two of you
wandering around in the cold, trying to get one started."

"You didn't go near the circle of vehicles the outside people used, did you?" asked Elias.

"No, sir. Just the parking lot."

Elias smiled at him. "Thanks. And stop that ‘sir' stuff, will you?" They shook hands and Crabill
moved back, pausing at the doorway. Tillie was jammed next to him in the tight opening, shivering in
the cold and staring at her two friends, a look of profound sadness on her face.

Elias and Leah both waved. Tillie, and the others visible through the open door, returned the wave.
The two turned and climbed into the yellow SUV parked near the door, its engine running.

Tillie stood clutching Crabill's arm, watching her two friends as they pulled the doors closed. She
had to fight off the urge to run to the truck and jump into the back seat. She knew that if she did that,
Elias would only make her get out. After a minute's hesitation, the truck pulled away, slowly skirting the
perimeter of Aegis. She leaned out farther and farther from the door, watching the receding taillights
for as long as she could, until they disappeared around the gradually bending arc of the wall.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Wilson, standing behind her and gently trying
to pull her inside so the door could be closed. Reluctantly, she gave in, not taking her eyes off the last
point where they had been visible. Crabill closed the steel door with a loud slam, dropping the crossbar
into the new saddles he had welded on the frame.

None of the gathering had yet dispersed. They were all standing as if rooted to their spots, unsure
of what to do next. Tillie, in a daze, worked her way through the people. With a silent nod of her head,
she accepted the occasional comment of reassurance that she would soon see Elias and Leah again.
Once she cleared the back of the group, her pace quickened and she walked briskly. After putting
another turn of the corridor behind her, she broke into a full run, dashing down one hallway and then
another, until she reached the access ladder she was seeking. Almost flying up the rungs, she found
herself in the mechanical system. Running again, she sprinted all the way to her old den…her, now
empty, home for many years, where she collapsed to the floor, sobbing.



Tillie stood alone at the west end of the roof, her body pressed against the inside face of the parapet
wall, which stopped at her shoulders, her eyes fixed on the distant point where the road from Aegis
disappeared at the horizon. Before coming to the roof, she had added extra layers of clothing, and found
some heavy gloves and a parka with a thick, furry hood; yet, the cold still penetrated, chilling her and
making her shiver. With the constant roaring of the wind, she did not hear Sweezea approaching,
startled when she felt a sudden touch on her arm. Turning, she saw him standing beside a
fifty-five-gallon drum, which he had rolled to her spot on the roof using a hand truck.

"Hey, Tim." She had to shout to be heard.

"Brought you a present." He slid the flange of the hand truck out from under the barrel. Tillie
glanced inside and saw that it was full of chunks of wood. It looked like dimensional lumber, rather than
something simply cut from trees.

"Where did you get the wood?"

He smiled sheepishly. "I took apart a few pieces of furniture, mostly sofas, a couple of bookcases."
As he spoke, he pulled what looked like an old-fashioned oilcan out of his jacket pocket, removed the
rubber stopper, turned the can upside down over the barrel, and squirted a fluid onto the wood, soaking
it. Setting the oilcan aside, he pulled out a book of matches he had been carrying from his last MRE,
lit one match and tucked it into the rest, igniting the entire book, which he dropped onto the wood. In
spite of the wind, flames leapt up instantly.

Sweezea gave a lopsided grin to Tillie. "I know we can't talk you into coming inside tonight, so we
did the next best thing. Now you can warm up."

Before she could thank him, she saw Hutson approaching, doing an impersonation of Santa Claus,
with a huge bundle over his shoulder.

Despite her mood, she managed a smile at her two friends as he dumped the bundle next to her
feet, spilling out a mound of additional wood for the fire.

"Guys, thanks."

"Least we could do," Hutson shouted. "Sure you won't let one of us take a watch for you?"

She shook her head. "I'm sure."

"Suit yourself. This should hold you through the night."

She thanked them again and they retreated to the access hatch, rolling the empty hand truck with
them. The metal side of the barrel was now radiating heat generously, and she stood as close as she
dared, not wanting to ignite the fur on her parka. After she had absorbed enough of the warmth to stop
her shivers, Tillie turned back to face the west, again remaining as close to the barrel as possible while
keeping her vigil. She watched the sun set and the stars come out for the night, moving occasionally to
capture a bit more of the heat from the fire on one side of her body, then the other.

Her wristwatch was under far too many layers of clothing to bother with, so she had no idea what
time it was when she felt another tap on her shoulder, startling her once more. This time it was Wilson.

"Hi," she barked over the wind.

Leaning close to be heard, he shouted, "Hello, Tillie. The others told me you were up here. I don't
understand why. You know that Elias and Leah won't come back sooner than twenty-four hours from
their departure."

She shrugged. "I know. They want to give the bug time to kill them, if it's going to, before they
come back. I was thinking they might change their minds, that's all. Anyway, it'll be twenty-four hours
in the morning."

Wilson began to argue with her, then decided against it. He turned and gazed out to the west,
resting his arms on the top of the parapet wall.

They both stood without speaking for several minutes before Tillie broke the silence. "They aren't
coming back, are they?"

"Of course they are," he replied quickly, trying his best to sound sincere.

"Why? Why would you say that?"

"Elias and Leah are two of the most clever, resourceful, and adept people I've ever known. If there
is a way to gather food from an uninfected origin and bring it back to us, they will find it."

She did not respond for quite some time. Finally, she said, "Thanks." With a single word she
conveyed that she did not believe him for a moment.

Wilson fumbled to find something else to say, when she placed her hand on his arm. "Wilson, I'm
fine. Okay? There isn't anything you can say that will make it any better. And there isn't anything you
can say that will make me decide to come inside. Please understand, this is where I need to be. I tried
it inside and I couldn't stand it. Looking at walls with no windows…knowing Elias and Leah might be
driving up while I was in there and I wouldn't know about it the minute…the second it happened…was
driving me crazy. Besides…what difference does it make, anyway?"

Wilson began to speak, but Tillie put a gloved finger to his lips. "Please don't. You might say
something that'll turn on these water pumps behind my eyes again. And as cold as it is out here, I'd have
icicles on my cheeks. So go back down where it's warm. I'll be fine."

Despite the fact that much of his face was covered, she could see the concern he had for her. She
knew that he was desperately trying to think of the right thing to say that would change her mind. And
she could see the exact moment he gave up. "Do you need anything?"

She shook her head to indicate that she did not.

"I'll check on you later."

Tillie nodded.

Resignedly, he squeezed her arm once and turned to walk away. She did not watch his retreating
figure cross the roof back to the hatch. Instead, she bent over and picked up an armload of the wood
piled at her feet and dumped it into the barrel, causing an explosion of glowing embers to burst from
the top and swirl out into the night. Turning her back to the frigid, unceasing gale, Tillie resumed her
vigil.



The day was warm. The sun was bright, casting its rays upon the gently rippling waters of the pond,
and scattering them into a million sparkling pinpoints that seemed to caress her eyes instead of hurting
them. She was wearing a yellow cotton top, navy blue shorts, and a pair of black Keds. Her tanned legs
pumped up and down with each rise and fall of the foot pedals on the paddleboat, each push creating
a soft whooshing sound as the paddles at the rear of the boat turned shallowly in the water, easing it
forward. A steady, shrill chirp…chirp…chirp from an unseen bird almost synchronized with the motion
of her legs and the pedals.

The air was filled with the smell of hamburgers grilling at the stand near the dock. And popcorn,
its buttery aroma making her mouth water. Close to the shore, picnickers stoked their fires in
anticipation of their own burgers soon to be cooked. The smoke from the barbeques wafted through
the still air over the water and caused a not unpleasant sting in her nostrils.

Tillie looked at the seat to her right and saw Maxwell, now a towheaded teenager. Although he did
not share her red hair, the familial connection provided him with a generous sprinkling of freckles. He
was smiling broadly at her as he assisted with the chore of propelling them through the water.

A part of her mind was in another locale, a distant place, different from where she was now in every
way. But the remaining part was not only engaged in this idyllic moment, but was relishing it, embracing
it, devouring every aspect of her surroundings. She smiled at her brother and put her arm around his
already firm and muscular shoulders. "I love you, Maxwell!"

He leaned into her, his hand sliding between her body and the seat back, and circling her waist,
pulling her tightly to him. "I love you, too, Tee."

She tousled his blond hair. "What a perfect day! This is so wonderful."

The two continued pedaling across the pond. Tillie turned to face her brother. "Maxwell, do you
forgive me?"

"I do, Tee. I always have." The smile left his face, replaced with a more serious expression. "What's
important now is that you forgive yourself."

"I don't know if I can."

"You need to, Tee. You must. Tee, wake up! You have to wake up now!"

His words struck her like a hammer blow. She stared at Maxwell, looking deeply into his eyes, trying
to understand what he meant and knowing it at the same time. Although her feet were still pushing the
pedals down, the sound of the wheel splashing into the water no longer reached her ears. The smell of
the hamburgers and popcorn was gone from the air.