End of Last Chapter:

"Yes, coyotes are wonderful animals," Sani said, "but we've now wasted all the time we can afford, my dear children. Koko, eat some of our food stores to keep up your strength. The rest of us will finish the insects. It's time we headed for the mountains. It'll be dark soon, and we need to be well down the road before it does."

The group nodded and did what Sani suggested. Debate was fine when there was time, but, as a group, they trusted Sani's ultimate authority and wisdom. Short of half an hour, they finished eating and gathered their belongings.

As they began, yet another march, each person was given to their own reflections.

Koko thought about her husband Todd, and longed for the moment they reunited. Ayala thought about babies, and how eager she was to hold Koko's in her arms.

Archie reflected on how very like his father Sani appeared. He was wise, loved nature, and never seemed disturbed by anything happening around him. Archie hoped he'd remember Sani's example when he returned to his own leadership position. And Sani's thoughts? Who knew what was in his mind? The others just followed him with child-like trust into the unknown.

The story Continues.

The terrain gradually changed as the fugitives marched toward the mines in southern Colorado. Vegetation, once composed of water storing succulents and drought resistant bushes, began to change to taller trees and fuller bushes.

Though all but Sani were unaware, the elevation increased as well. Gradually, low flatland yielded to the cooler footstools of the San Juan Mountains. The team no longer dug holes to sleep the days away, but built lean-tos to shelter them while they rested.

They no longer worried about pursuit, having decided the enemy lay ahead, not behind. As a result, they spent limited energy and time on moving forward.

The girls chattered constantly about the sight of mountains. They had never known anything but dry open desert, and were in awe of the towering giants and beautiful vegetation before them.

"Oh, Sani, how can anything so magnificent harbor the horror of Mine City?" Koko asked. She held her sister's hand as much for moral support as for any physical  need.

"The wonder of the mountains always move me," he replied. "You can't blame nature for the horror mankind perpetrates. These mountains rise above the petty doings of a self-destructive species."

"We aren't all self destructive," Archie pointed out, "nor are we evil. The work of Leander and the other scientists in his study group do not speak for our species."

"I didn't say people are evil, or I wouldn't be helping you. I believe redemption is possible for humankind, and that most are good folks. But, enough negative thoughts. We are almost to the mines, my children."

Sani stopped and waved a hand toward a wall of stone, barely a half-day's journey ahead.

"You say mines with such reverence," Ayala said. "You almost make me excited to go there."

"What do you mean, almost?" Archie asked. "Isn't this what our whole journey has been about?"

"Remember, I only agreed to stay with the party to support Koko and help her find Todd. I know there's a deeper quest here, one that will free my people from oppression they aren't even aware of, but I'm a bit more single-minded."

"Oh my goodness, you're afraid of the mines," Koko said. "I forgot. You never liked the dark and are terrified of closed spaces. Ayala, you've been dreading this part all along, haven't you?"

"Yeah. Sani, do you suppose I could just wait on the outside while the rest of you go in?"

"Running, or hiding, from our fears doesn't help us overcome them, Dear."

"Let's say, I'm not concerned about overcoming them, and am happy enough to let them linger?"

"Then you will have missed one of humanity's main reasons for being on Earth."

"To succeed in life and leave your mark for the future?" Archie asked.

"Oh no, dear boy, that's just the aftereffects. We must overcome our weaknesses, or if we don't, we're just pawns in someone else's game. Fear allows people to control you, Ayala. Haven't you learned from what the scientists have done with your people in Hokee? It was more than a mere fence that kept all of you inside."

"They made us afraid of animals and the desert," Koko said.

"And told us we were orphans no one else wanted," Ayala added, "but, they didn't teach me to be afraid of the dark or enclosed spaces. I got those fears entirely on my own."

"Were they ever discovered by the others?" Sani asked.

"I don't think anyone knew, besides Koko."

"Fear breeds fear," Archie said. "My father taught me that. He spent my entire life encouraging me to charge ahead and be afraid of nothing."

"Which is why you are a United States Senator at thirty two-years old," Sani said.

"And why few people have ever left Hokee," Koko said. "Their fear never touched me the way it did others. That's why Todd and I decided to get away... before they hauled him off to the mines."

"You told me people have tried to get away before," Archie said. "Were any ever successful?"

"None that I know of," Koko replied. "They were always brought back, and taken to Mine City."

"Except one woman," Ayala said. "Remember the tale, Koko? It happened way before we came to Hokee."

"Yeah, I do, but it's not a very encouraging reminder for me at the moment."

"What happened?" Archie asked. He reached a hand out and touched Koko on the shoulder. She sighed and eased down on a log. The others joined her by sitting on the ground, or finding a log of their own.

"It's a story the Hawks tell of a woman who had managed to get pregnant, like me," Koko said slowly. "She wanted to let her child live, so she escaped in the night. They said she almost made it to the road before she gave birth in the sand. She and the child both died."

Archie got up and sat on the log beside Koko. He put a protective arm around her trembling shoulders.

"That's not what's going to happen to you," he said. "You aren't alone, and you've already made it further than she did."

"Can you protect me against an army of enemies, or even against the birth process?"

"Sweetheart, having a baby is the most natural process on earth," Archie said, as though an expert. "My mother had three."

"In a hospital with lots of doctors and nurses around, not in the middle of the wilderness," Koko said.

"You won't give birth here, either," Archie said. "We'll go get Todd, then take you to get proper prenatal care. We haven't come this far to lose our most precious cargo."

"But what if the baby doesn't look like a normal human?" Koko asked.

"Will that make it less your child?" Archie asked. "Or will it make you want to put it in Mine City?"

"Not at all."

"Then we press on," Sani said. He rose to his feet. "Come children, by nightfall we will be in the mines. Ayala, you will face this challenge like all the others."

"With fortitude I never knew I had," Ayala said.

"Yes, and with all of us beside you," Archie commented. He reached down and pulled both women to their feet in one fluid motion.

"That's better," Sani said. "Now on we go. Archie, you fall in behind. The closer we get to the mountains, the more danger we might face."

"Cougar Kin?" Archie asked. "I thought you heard no rumor of them."

"Ah, I don't speak of the human sort, but there are other animals lurking about. Don't worry ladies. There's nothing out there our strong Archie can't handle. So, Archie, if you see a bear, puff yourself up, and hold your hands over your head. Look fierce. Be an alpha male."

"You're kidding, right?" Archie asked. He looked around as though waiting for a black bear to pounce at any moment.

"Not to be afraid," Sani said. He winked at the girls. "Just remember . . . alpha male."

"Got it . . . alpha male."

Archie had a feeling Sani was trying to prove that even the strong, brave Archie had things he feared. Sani was right.