The Free-dom, Post #4

Chapter Three:

For the first time, Zachalope was the last one in the house to wake up, and he found Cactus, Skitch and Dizzy conferring in the lower level. They all smiled mysteriously at him as he came down and he stopped suspiciously on the bottom step.

"How are you guys this morning?" he asked, slowly.

"Excellent."

"Just fine."

"Wonderful."

"Oh yeah? What happened that's so wonderful?" He narrowed his eyes, trying to see what they were plotting.

"What? Is it wrong to be happy in the morning?" Skitch asked, feigning indignation. "I just woke up this way, okay?" She smiled hugely, Cactus and Dizzy following suit.

"All right, what are you three planning?" They put on nearly identical fake innocent expressions.

"Nothing at all, Zach," Cactus told him. The other two nodded in agreement.

"Oh really? Well, if it's nothing, you won't mind telling me what you were just talking about."

"Oh, we weren't talking about anything," Cactus said, slyly.

"It was a family matter, really," Skitch added. Dizzy just grinned hugely. Zach rolled his eyes.

"You'll probably tell me eventually if it has something to do with me, which I think it does," he told them. "In the mean time, shall we go down for breakfast?" They nodded, still secretive, and walked down the many steps to where various pre-breakfast liquids sat steaming on the serving table. Smear, Drummah and Foundling were already there, passing a bowl of mate around. Smear, who was drinking just then, quickly slurped it down and handed it back to Foundling. Skitch sat down beside him and gave him a quick kiss before snuggling into his side and accepting the mate for herself.

"I don't know why people ever wanted to French press mate," she said when she finished. "It's just so much better when you drink with friends through a bombilla. And I think it really does work in bringing soul mates together." She smiled at Smear while Dizzy made gagging motions.

"It's the best way to drink it on the road," Zach said, "even if it does get a little lonely."

"Maybe you should have someone along for your journeys," Skitch replied, grinning. Before he could ask her about the grin Foundling passed him the gourd and he drank.

"So, when do you think you'll be going, Zach?" Drummah asked.

"Well, I need to do a little tweaking on my bike, make sure everything is still functioning, then I need to gather up some supplies, but I should be ready by tomorrow."

"That soon?" Dizzy asked, looking a little crestfallen.

"I'm a messenger, I don't really like being in one place for very long. But don't worry, I probably won't be going for a couple more days."

"That's a relief. I thought you might just lave us all without even a farewell party."

"Farewell party, huh? I don't really need one of those." Foundling passed the gourd to Dizzy.

"Sure you do," she said, grinning hugely. "We give everyone that leaves a farewell party. Call it a custom." Zach laughed as the circle thought up elaborate parties for him. A few minutes later, Yuki and her daughters came out of the kitchen bearing heaps of pancakes, goat butter and fresh fruit. Janae sauntered up to the top of the kitchen and rang the bell while the early risers dished up. Zach sat back down in the circle and the mate continued to be passed.

"So, what's it like to travel so much?" Drummah asked him.

"Not boring, that's for sure," he replied, making her smile. "It's a little hard for me to explain, 'cause I've never done anything else. I was practically born traveling, in fact. My mother took me to China a few months after I was born and I haven't stopped going since."

"Interesting existence," Penguin, who had sat down a few minutes ago, said. "I've never even been out of BC, though I haven't really had any inclination to travel, so it works out okay."

"Well, to each his own," Zach said jovially. "How about you, Drummah?"

"I was born in Africa, adopted by my foster parents in New Orleans and moved to Vancouver when I was twelve." She smiled. "Cactus was the first person I met in Canada because she say beside me in math class. At first I didn't really like her, but I guess you could say we became pretty dang good friends. It's kinda funny how things like that work out, hey?" Zach and Penguin agreed and Penguin said how him meeting his girlfriend, Rooster, had been a lot like that.

"And look at us now, happily in love and living with each other." Zach put on his best melodramatic shocked face.

"Living together? And you're not even married? The indecency!" Penguin laughed as Drummah finished off her last bite of pancake.

"Well, I do believe I'm going to get to work," she said, standing up. "A wonderful day to you all." She tipped her nonexistent hat to them and walked off to the chore tree. The others soon followed suit and Penguin asked if Zach would like to join him at whatever post he had. He declined, though, having to work on his bike.

"Does that mean you'll be leaving soon, then?" Penguin asked.

"Yeah, probably in a few days. It's nice to get some recuperation time in, though." When Penguin left he walked to where he had leaned his bike against the kitchen wall and rolled it over to the fire pit to work on it. He pulled his toolkit out of a bag and got to work. As he worked, Tick'lish, the young blonde once-orphan, watched his every move. From what he knew of her, she had come to the Free-dom that year with the boys Goner, Shimmy and Cracked, after being alone for two years. They had been some of the only survivors from an orphanage in Vancouver and rather than staying in the city with the panicked people, they lived on their own out in the forests.

"Can you hand me the little wrench over there?" Zach asked her. She hesitated a moment, then tentatively picked it up and handed it to him. In a few minutes she was sitting down beside him as he explained how to care for a bike and what it was like to live on the move. She soaked it up like a sponge and when Siren called her over to her lessons, he could tell she had already learned exactly what she really wanted to know. I think I'll put her name in for messenger service, he thought. She seems like she would do well as a traveler. He smiled and cleaned his chain.

Fifteen minutes later he decided he should probably move again, so he climbed one of the least populated trees to the middle, walked out on a limb to where it crossed over to a smaller tree and climbed over to the trunk of it. From there he climbed out onto another limb on it's other side and wove his way among the branches, exploring the treetops. Eventually he circled back to the Free-dom and climbed high enough to see the gardens from a tree away. He called out to Angora, who was weeding tomatoes, and laughed as the shaggy man looked around, bewildered.

"Over here!" Zach called. "In a different tree." Angora scanned the treetops and smiled when he finaly spotted Zach, clinging to the top of a spruce tree and waving.

"Whatcha doin' over there?"

"Chillin' out!"

"I wish I could do the same, man, but there's tomatoes to be weeded."

"I wish you well in your weeding, then." Angora gave him a salute and got back to work while Zach climbed back down the tree to the Platform. He put his tools away, leaned his bike back against the kitchen and walked inside to once again help Yuki and the other chefs cook.

Cactus was working in the loom room with Coconut, Tick, Sliver, Rake and Serena, finishing off one of the thick blankets. They were nearly done with the last batch after two years of weaving, and just in time, too, as winter was only a few months away and the nights were getting colder already. She pushed her shuttle through the threads and pulled the weft as tight as she could. Then she wove a long stick back through and pushed the shuttle back. A few more rows and she would be finished with that blanket. Sliver, who was seated at one of the looms near her, sighed and sat back in his chair.

"Woohoo! I'm done," he said.

"I'm nearly there," Serena said, Pulling her shuttle through the final time. "There, now all that's left is the tying." She smiled and got to work cutting strings and tying them in groups of four. Sliver followed her lead and soon enough the whole group was tying instead of weaving. It took nearly a half an hour to finish with the tying, but they managed it and they folded the blankets up and put them away in the winter house that was a level lower than the loom room and only slightly lower than the Platform. A few minutes after they sat down on the benches and waited until Yuki led the cooks out with lunch and someone rang the meal bell. Cactus hailed Dizzy and Skitch and beckoned them over to the chore tree.

"So, I have a question about what I told you this morning," she began. "Now that you've had a chance to ponder it a bit more, what do you think of my idea?"

"I think it's great," Skitch said immediately. "In fact, it's so great I want to come along with you. Life in the Free-dom is all fine and wonderful, but adventure is something completely different..." Cactus smiled broadly at her sister.

"What about you Dizzy?"

"Well, I think it's a good idea and I know you'd enjoy yourselves," he said, "however, I also know that if you go, I will miss you. So it's definitely a double edged thing."

"Why don't you come with?" Skitch asked.

"Well, I don't know. I'd miss my other friends, I suppose. But I can see what you mean by adventure is something completely different...Can I think on it for a bit? I'll let you know after lunch. Or maybe at supper." Both sisters nodded. "When were you planning on letting everyone else know?"

"Supper?" Skitch suggested, looking over at her sister.

"Yeah, supper seems good," Cactus agreed. "No sense procrastinating." A grin split her face, suddenly. "This is going to be amazing," she said. "You just wait." The other two grinned back at her enthusiasm and they sat down on the benches to eat. When Dizzy had cleared his plate and sat it back down on the serving table, he walked over and bent low to his sisters' ears.

"I'll come," he whispered. and before either of them could say anything he raced off to his chores. Skitch and Cactus looked at each other, stunned for a moment, then their faces took on almost identical joyous expressions. They embraced triumphantly and went off to their separate jobs. The weavers, having nothing more to do, decided to do some 'house cleaning' and they set about sweeping away the newly fallen leaves, tidying the winter house and loom room and doing small repairs on the stairs and buildings. Cactus ended up taking a broom to her own house and checking that there were no faults in the floor, walls or ceiling. As she was checking the tree growth, the supper bell rang and she headed back down to the Platform.

When she arrived, Angora was piling logs on the fire, which was already surrounded, and the fuel caught quickly, brightening up the already night dark Platform. Cactus looked up to see the light fading through the branches, though she could still see the gardens outlined against the sky. She loaded herself up a plate and sat down between her siblings and Drummah. Skitch was full of unconcealed excitement whereas Dizzy, though happy looking, also looked a little sad. Cactus slung her arm around his shoulders and hugged him.

"Why so sad, little brother?" she asked in a whisper. He shrugged. "Sad about leaving the Free-dom and everyone in it?"

"Yeah, and about changing. Changing and not fitting back into the Free-dom."

"Don't worry about it, Dizzy," she told him. "After all, Zach still fits in well with the Free-doms and he's been traveling for his whole life."

"Yeah, but that's the only thing he knows and the only thing anyone knows him for. But peaople here know me for what I am. What if I change and they don't like the change?" He looked up at her plaintively for reassurance.

"Well, that's the great part about the Free-doms,"she said, smiling encouragingly. "No one here judges anyone else and they'll love you no matter what." She kissed his forehead lightly. "Now, eat up. And remember, it's your choice if you want to come along and me and Skitch will understand no matter what you choose to do. I love you, little brother." He smiled and returned the affection, reassured.

"Okay, and don't worry, I'm still coming." She hugged him again and took a bite of food. Zachalope sat down in the space between her and Drummah as she chewed.

"So, Skitch told me you wanted to talk to me about something," he said. "Is it about what you guys were talking about this morning?" Cactus shot a glare over at her sister, who smiled innocently.

"Yeah," Cactus replied, "on her behalf as well as mine and Dizzy's." He nodded, wondering what possible direction the conversation could go in. "So, the three of us, starting with me this morning and now these two want to come along, were wondering if there was maybe perhaps a slight possibility of you letting us come along when you leave?" She smiled questioningly at him. "Maybe?" she added. Zachalope was completely stunned and it showed. Cactus, taking the surprise the wrong way, began to babble. "I mean, you don't have to, of course, but-"

"No no! Of course that's okay! I just never really have people asking to come along with me. Most people just want stability these days. And understandably." Cactus sighed with relief and Skitch seemed to glow with happiness. "Is this what you were hinting at this morning?" he asked the younger, remembering what she had said about mate and drinking partners.

"Yeah, and you didn't suspect a thing, did you?" He shook his head, making her smile broadly. "Yes! I'm the greatest hint dropper in the world!" Dizzy laughed.

"If you were a great hint dropper, people would be able to take the hints." She thought about that.

"Touche."

"Okay," Zach addressed them, "do you have bikes?" Cactus nodded.

"There's about ten in the inventory," she said.

"Excellent. So, if you're really serious about it, we can get you bike tomorrow. Here's what you'll need for supplies: a sleeping bag if possible, otherwise just blankets, some extra clothes, whatever toiletries you use like a toothbrush and oil of oregano or something, hair brush if you want. That's pretty much the basics. You'll also want to bring some fire-making things, matches or whatever, some candles and a sewing kit. Though I do have one of those and it is fairly extensive. Then we'll pack up our water and food portions. we'll need about six water bottles each."

"Great," Skitch said loudly, "so, when will we be leaving?"

"Leaving?" Creampie, who was sitting on her other side, asked. "Are you planning on going somewhere, Skitch?"

"Yeah, the three of us are thinking of going with Zachalope when he leaves."

"Oh," he said, bewildered. "But, well, why?" She shrugged.

"Y'know, to see the world in it's new-found glory. Visit the other Free-doms and meet a ton of people." She smiled at him. "I've always wanted to travel, you know."

"Well, why are Cactus and Dizzy leaving?" he asked, still wondering why one of them would want to leave, let alone all three. He had had a bad experience before coming to the Free-dom, though, having been chased out of his town with his brother because their parents had been stealing food, and he was fairly suspicious of the rest of the world except the other Free-doms.

"Same reason as Skitch," Cactus said. Creampie turned his blonde head to Dizzy.

"Well, when am I going to get another opportunity like this?" Dizzy said. By this time, Coconut, his little brother, and the people within their immediate vicinity were listening intently to the conversation.

"Well, I suppose this isn't too surprising," Bamboo said. "After all, the three of you have been here since the very beginning. It's really only natural that you'd get curious eventually." He looked over at them and smiled and they thanked him silently for putting a positive outlook on their departure. The rest of the people who had been listening smiled, picking up on his positivity. "Drummah, why don't you start up on a happy farewell beat? We might as well give them one helluva farewell party."

"Farewell party?" Sarah, who was across the circle, asked. "Who's leaving?"

"Cactus, Skitch and Dizzy," their side all replied, simultaneously.

"Well, then, I'm going to get the guitar," Angora said. "Rake, wanna go get the trumpet and the pic?"

"I'll go!" Spam said, jumping up and running up the stairs. Rake smiled and pulled his pot canister and pipe out of his pocket.

"Thought I'd need this tonight," he said and everyone laughed as Drummah took up a beat.

"Huh, they all took to it better than I expected," Dizzy told Skitch.

"Well, we're all understanding people in the Free-doms," she replied with a grin.

"So, when are you guys planning on leaving?" Spade asked, walking over to them form his place across the circle. The three siblings looked over to Zach.

"Well, I was thinking two or three days," he replied. "That'll give me a chance to tweak up their bikes and get some supplies ready and whatnot."

"Cool. You know," he said, leaning in conspiratorially," I'm not really surprised that you're leaving."

"Really?" the three said.

"Yeah, I had a dream a few nights ago about you three going on a journey." He laughed. "I wasn't exactly excpecting it to come true, though!"

"That's really weird," Drummah said, head cocked to the side. "I had a dream about that exact same thing." They looked at each other eerily, then laughed. "I guess we must have been on the same brain wave after jamming."

"I'd say. I wonder if anyone else had dreams like that?" Coconut shrugged.

"I suppose you could always ask around," the younger boy said.

"I could," Spade replied and soon walked back to his bench. Others came to them throughout the night with similar questions about the trip and by the end of the night the three of them felt they had gotten enough 'good lucks' to last them a lifetime.

The music that the villagers played that night was almost all up-beat and wild, and no one could resist the pull to stand up and dance around the fire. People wove in and out of the smoke like specters and a few people, Rake, Angora and Bamboo, mostly, leaped over the flames, singing wildly. In the midst of the frenzy Skitch sang a bit, conveying excitement and danger in her words. The four orphans ended up falling asleep together under a bench, curled like kittens. They were eventually joined by Spam Can, Barbberry and Spellcheck. It took almost five hours of hard dancing for everyone to collapse and another hour for anyone to muster the energy to climb up to their beds. In the end, only about half the villagers took the climb and the rest just lay beside the fire.

The morning sun broke through the trees, dazzling Skitch awake. She flung her hand up in front of her face and groaned. She had fallen asleep leaning against a bench with her feet towards the fire. The people to either side of her stirred a little and she checked who they were. On her right Dizzy was snoring, mouth open a little, head back, just like he always was. She looked over to her left and jumped a little. Smear, who had just woke up, looked over at her in the same as she turned her head.

"That was a little creepy," she told him.

"You're tellin' me," he replied, smiling. "It's a good thing we didn't both wake up staring right at each other. I probably would have jumped right out of my skin." She just laughed. Some of the other villagers started stirring, though none of them seemed quite as inclined to wakefulness as the young couple. There was a clang from the kitchen followed by and 'Oops!' and a bit of muffled laughter, telling them that Yuki and her daughters were awake and already making breakfast.

"Do you think we should go see if they want any help?" Skitch asked Smear.

"Maybe," he shrugged, "Yeah, why not? I haven't cooked in quite a while, anyways. But I want to check the chore tree first."

"All right, we can do that." Smear stood up and pulled her up and into a tight embrace. "Well, good morning to you, darling." He laughed and they walked to the tree, arm in arm. It turned out they were both on gardening, even though the gardens were almost done until after winter.

"We'll probably be helping with making preserves, again," Smear said when Skitch asked what the point of working in a garden without any vegetables was. "And we have a lot more people this year, so we'll probably have to do a lot more preserving. Well, you might not. After all, you're not going to be here this winter."

"You sounded a little wistful, there, love," Skitch noted, making him snort derisively.

"Well, I'm gonna miss you. It's gonna be so lonely without you three here, you know. After all, you've been here right from the beginning." He smiled, then. "But I know you'll have fun, so I won't try to stop you or anything. When you get back you'll have to tell us all about your crazy adventures."

"At least a hundred times, probably" she joked, putting her arms around him.

"Ha! A hundred times just to me. Probably closer to four billion for everyone else."

"Or maybe I'll just never stop telling the story of how I left the Free-dom to explore the dangerous world outside," she said, laughing. Smear chuckled and gave her a quick kiss before they walked back to the Platform and entered the kitchen. Yuki and Lina were washing dishes while Janae took bread out of the oven and Serena chopped fruit. Serena looked up when Smear closed the door and smiled at them.

"Good morning," she said brightly.

"Good morning, Serena," they both chimed.

"We were wondering if you needed any help with making breakfast," Skitch told her.

"Certainly! Can you put some water on the stove for drinks?" They nodded and hopped to. In a few minutes they had the water boiling and the two teens brought the drinks out to the serving table. There were about ten people up by that time and they lined up as soon as they saw Smear and Skitch with the water and bags of mate and tea. They put the things down and started up a mate circle with Greece, Bamboo and Laura. Zachalope, one of the few who had made it up to a bed, soon walked down the stairs and sauntered over to them.

"Morning, all," he said. "Did you all sleep well?" He was answered by nods and 'yes's. "Excellent. So Skitch, cutting right down to business, do you want to find some bikes after breakfast? We should probably have some time to check the condition, so the sooner the better, right?"

"Yeah," Skitch replied. "Breakfast should be ready pretty soon, here, and it's just fruit and porridge so we can carry it to the inventory with us.

"All right, that'll be great." He sat down and Smear filled him a bowl.

"So, Zach," he started, "where are you guys gonna go first?"

"Well, I was thinking the Rocky Mountain Free-dom, first. That way we won't be in the middle of the Pacific when winter starts. We don't want to get caught in a winter storm," he said, "they get pretty nasty."

"Where will we go after that?" Skitch asked.

"We'll have to see when we get there," he said, "but probably down to Mexico City Free-dom. But we'll see which direction they want us to trade in."

"How long until we end up back here?" she asked.

"Well, that all depends. definitely a few years, but with the varying schedule it's hard to get a specific date. It's four months to Rocky Mountain Free-dom and another six to Mexico City Free-dom, so if you want to see the world it's gonna take some time.

"So most likely I won't see you until you're eighteen," Smear said wistfully to Skitch. She drank the mate and handed the bowl back to him.

"And if you're still with me by midsummer in two years you can come to the messenger meeting at the Caspian Free-dom," Zach continued.

"A messenger meeting?" Skitch repeated, surprised. "I didn't know we had those."

"Well, they were started after the cataclysm so we can keep up with what's happening in other places. There's one every three years from the summer solstice to the second new moon after and this next will be our second."

"So it's a month and a half long, then," Skitch said. "Why so long?"

"Well, people are coming from all over the world and it does take a fair bit of time to get from one place to another. Unless you take the Shanghai-ways," he added thoughtfully.

"The what's?" Bamboo asked.

"They're currents and prevailing winds that run from about Shanghai to either the tip of Africa or the Australian coast, depending on if you take A or B. Our sailors found them a year after the cataclysm and they've turned out to be very effective.'

"It seems like there's a slight lack of communication between Free-doms," Skitch remarked dryly. Zachalope laughed.

"Only between messengers and villagers," he said. "The messengers don't stay around for very long and the villagers are very rarely curious. Except you and Cactus and Dizzy," he added, smiling at Skitch. She grinned back.

"It's always been like that," she said. "You wouldn't believe how curious I can get, sometimes." Smear nodded his head emphatically and she gave him a playful shove. Then the breakfast crew stepped out and the meal bell was rung. They all lined up and Zach and Skitch ended up waiting for Cactus and Dizzy to get food as they were in the middle of the line. After a few minutes they were stepping into the winter house, where all the community owned things were kept.

"All the bikes are kept in the inventory room, probably right at the back because we never use them," Cactus said.

"Well, only one way to get 'em," Zach said and Cactus grinned and walked to the storage room. She opened the door, revealing a closet only slightly larger than a bedroom in a city house and packed full of things that the villagers either had for winter, emergencies or just didn't use very often. Hanging from the ceiling were thirty seven lanterns, baskets full of candles and hanging shelves full of preserved food. Food also lined the walls in shelves alongside tools and unused things that refugees brought with them but decided not to keep when they moved in. At the very back, stacked on top of each other, were seven bikes. between them and the door was at least a meter of foraged building supplies.

"So, it turns out I was right," Cactus said. "They're definitely right at the back." Zach rolled his eyes and started helping Skitch find the easiest route to the bikes. It turned out that there wasn't one, really, and in the end they just pulled all of the materials out into the winter house and rolled the seven bikes out after. Zach checked the bikes over and got rid of the two children's bikes then organized them into a line from most-in-need-of-work to least. The three siblings tried out all of the bikes to see which ones would fit them best. Cactus ended up with the last on in the line as it would fit her fine with a slight seat adjustment, Skitch took the third and Dizzy the second.

"Okay, roll those on up to the Platform and I'll grab my tools," Zach said. "Then you can come back down here and find any bike racks or anything that could be made into bike racks." They did as they were instructed and Zach spent well into the morning oiling chains, tightening brakes and checking the bikes over for any major hazards. Before lunch Cactus and Skitch had brought him about ten bike racks of different sizes and designs and a few old panniers they had found in the storage. When he finally finished checking them over, he attached the least rusty racks, one rack in the front and back of each bike, and hooked on the bags. All in all, he thought the bikes looked pretty good and they would definitely function on the journey. He rolled them each over to where he had left his own bike and went to find the other three.

He was expecting them to have been finished a while ago and to be off doing other things, but he ended up having to go back to the winter house and saw that they were only three quarters done. This, he saw, was because Dizzy had taken charge of his older sisters and they had all completely reorganized the store room, making it much neater and easier to get at things. The building materials had been sorted and placed in different sections of the room with paths running between everything and the shelves had been rearranged into something much easier to follow. He whistled in awe as he walked in.

"We've been a little busy," Cactus said, turning away from the shelf she was stocking. She rubbed her arm across her forehead. "I've been stacking bottles for almost an hour, I think. It's a hard job, especially when you're too short to reach the top shelf."

"You want some help?" he asked.

"That would be appreciated, yes," she replied, smiling. Zach spent the next hour putting things on the top shelves and by the time they had gotten everything moved back into the inventory, he was exhausted from all the bending and reaching.

"Well, good job, team," Skitch said when she had placed the last bag of plastic bags in the inventory. "Shall we go see if supper is almost ready? I'm starving."

"Me too," Cactus concurred. "It looks pretty good in there, though. We work well when we have the time." They walked back to the Platform, chatting idly. Supper was almost ready, they found out, and they only had to wait about fifteen minutes before Janae rang the bell. By that time it was too dark for the three siblings to find what they needed to pack, but they did decide that, if they could get everything together in time, they would leave the next day. That night there were two drums and three didgeridoos plus Spam Can practicing the piccolo, and although the music was still up-beat there wasn't quite as much festivity in the air as the night before. Halfway through, though, when no one was focusing on him, Smear walked over to Skitch and whispered something in her ear. A moment later the two of them slipped away from the crowd. He led her by the hand across the Platform and down the ladder.

"Where are we going, Smear?" she asked.

"Just wait a second," he replied. "You'll love it. It's just up ahead. I found it a couple nights ago when I couldn't sleep and I've wanted to show it to you, but I never had the chance. Besides, tonight could be the last chance we get for a while." He stopped a few meters later. "Okay, close your eyes and I'll lead you there." She closed her eyes and felt him pull her forward slowly. He gave her a few directions along the way, but they were mostly silent, listening to the night sounds. After about two minutes, he stopped.

"Can I open my eyes?"

"One second." He kissed her lightly. "Okay, open them." She did and looked around. They were standing in the mouth of a giant tree that had fallen over and had been hollowed out by animals, weather and insects. The entire inside was covered in moss and fungi and the roots from the plants growing on top of the tree were hanging down like streamers. But, most remarkably, scattered here and there in groups of seven or eight, were mushrooms glowing a bright, fluorescent blue. "What do you think? It's neat, right?"

"Oh my god, Smear. This is amazing." She stepped forward, feeling the moss squish down under her feet. She reached down and pulled her shoes off, leaving them near the entrance, and walked forward to examine the fungi. "I wonder what kind of mushrooms these are?" Smear joined her.

"I don't know. They're probably some new species that appeared after the cataclysm."

"Maybe we should name them," Skitch mused. "We could call them Jellyfish Mushrooms. They kind of look like crazy glowing jellyfish. Or night light mushrooms."

"I like that one. Night Light Mushrooms."

"Yeah? Well, that's what we'll call them, then." She smiled shyly over at him. "Thank you, Smear. I'm really glad you brought me here."

"Me too. I just wish you weren't leaving," he said. "I'm gonna miss you so much."

"I'll miss you too," she reassured him. "You know, you could always come with us. I'm sure no one would mind if you did." He shook his head.

"I'm settled here," he told her. "I was out in the world for a year before I found the Free-dom and I don't have the courage to face it again just yet. I think I can probably content myself with just listening to your stories when you get back." Skitch sat down in the middle of a clear space on the floor and ran her fingers over the nearest mushroom.

"They're really delicate looking, aren't they?" she asked, changing the subject. They had slender stems and small, flat caps and stood at about four inches high. Smear sat down near her and just smiled, though she didn't look up to see him do it. They sat for a few minutes in silence before Skitch crawled over to him and he pulled her into his lap. "I don't have to go if you don't want me to," she whispered.

"I'd much rather you go because you want to than stay because I want you to," he whispered back. She leaned against his shoulder and sighed. "Skitch?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you." He murmured that quietly into her ear and she almost though he might not have spoken, but a moment later he kissed her softly on the side of the face, then the mouth.

"I love you, too," she said back, and kissed him passionately until the world melted away.

Cactus was frantic the next morning when she realized that Skitch was nowhere to be found. She had gone to bed somewhat early that night and more than a little high after having some farewell pot with Rake and Bamboo so she had fallen asleep immediately, thinking that Skitch and Dizzy were still downstairs. When she woke up the next morning, Dizzy was in bed so she had gone down to see Skitch and drink some mate. Only Skitch wasn't on the Platform and no one else that was awake had seen her. She raced up the stairs and woke her little brother.

"Dizzy! Did Skitch come up last night?"

"No, I don't think so. Why?"

"Because she's not here!"

"Did you check if she's with Smear?" She hadn't, so she raced over to the house he shared with Foundling, Simmer and Drummah. Drummah was getting dressed when she knocked so she was let inside quickly.

"Is my sister here?"

"Not that I know, but I wasn't really looking. I can check if her and Smear are upstairs." A moment later she was back again. "No, they're not there. I don't remember Smear coming back last night, either. Maybe they decided to spend the night alone. have you checked the winter house or the gardens? They could be there." Cactus thanked her and raced off to check, first the gardens, then the winter house. But they weren't in either. By the time she was back on the Platform she had worked herself into such a frenzy that she could hardly sit down for more than a second. When Dizzy came down he shook his head and made his way over to her.

"You still haven't found her?" She didn't answer. "Well, I saw them slip away last night, even though they didn't think anyone had noticed."

"Which way did they go?"

"That way." He pointed toward the ladder. "Maybe they went to the ground for the night."

"They better not have! It's dangerous to be on the ground at night. What if there was a raid party that was lurking around out there? Or they accidently run into a bear? What on earth were they thinking?" She had stood up and was nearly yelling, so Dizzy grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back onto the bench.

"Cactus, relax. They're fine." She started to ask him how he knew that, but he cut her off. "I just saw them start up the ladder." She looked like she was going to explode for a second, and then she seemed to deflate. "Are you good, now?" She nodded. "Okay. So, don't chew either of them up for it. It was maybe their last night together, so it's perfectly understandable that they would want to spend it alone. Right?"

"Yeah, I suppose," she agreed sullenly. She was still brooding when, a minute later, Smear and Skitch walked over to them, smiling brightly.

"Good morning," Dizzy greeted them. "How was your night?"

"Where was your night?" Cactus muttered under her breath.

"It was good," Smear said.

"It was really good," Skitch added.

"Good to know. Where'd you go?" her older sister inquired harshly.

"That's none of your business, Cactus," Skitch told her. "It was a place on the ground that Smear found and I'm not going to tell you any more about it."

"Be nice, love," Smear said quietly to her.

"Well, I have to say I'm a little-" She broke off when she noticed Dizzy staring at her pointedly. "Never mind. I'm going to get some tea." She left abruptly for the serving table."

"What's her problem this morning?" Skitch asked her little brother who shrugged.

"She worked herself into a frenzy because she couldn't find you. I told her not to harass you, though." He smiled. "So, where did you go? Unless you really don't want anyone to know."

"Just a place, little brother. Maybe I'll show you one day." She paused. "But probably not." Dizzy laughed.

"Well, I'm glad the two of you got a chance to say your good-byes."

"Me too." She looked up at Smear. "I love you." He just smiled and kissed her.

"Well, you're relationship has progressed," Dizzy noted. They looked at him quizzically. "A day ago you probably wouldn't have made that kind of public display of affection and I can't recall either of you admitting to love," he explained dryly, making them both blush a little.

"Let's go see if someone has a mate circle started up," Skitch suggested and they walked over to the benches. Krill and Chill were sharing a bowl and Chill passed it over to Smear as they sat down without even stopping their conversation.

"Well, if we pick up any more refugees we may have to relocate for the sake of water," Krill was saying. "After all, we may not have enough just from rain water." His twin sister nodded her head in agreement.

"However," she said, "we do get quite a bit of rainwater and I have no doubts that we could make more rain barrels."

"What about food then? We'll need to get bigger gardens if we take in too many more people. The year we got here we made it through with a litle bit left over and last year we were stretched thin by spring time. Who knows? Maybe this year we'll have even less to go around."

"I think you just want to build a new house, Krill. We could always add on more gardens in surrounding trees or if things get safe enough start some on the ground."

"Ha! We'd have to assassinate the Vancouver dictator for that to ever happen."

"Speaking of Vancouver," Dizzy put in, "when was the last time we had scouts come back? It's been a few months hasn't it?"

"Yeah, I suppose it has," Chill said, accepting the mate from Skitch and refilling it. "Who did we send out again? It was some of the newer refugees, right?"

"Yeah, Darla and Coiner," Smear said. "Do you think maybe they've decided to stay in the city? They were fresh to the wilderness, after all. Maybe they felt uncomfortable living the woods life."

"Either that or someone killed them," Krill added. "They're probably still trying to use money so they could have been killed for that, or for food or water or something. Or just because. People went pretty crazy after the cataclysm." The others nodded solemnly.

"Well, it's a good thing we're in the Free-dom, then," Dizzy said, lightening the mood. "And I'm sure they're fine. They survived for three years in the city before they found us so I'm sure they can stand a few months." Chill passed him the bowl of mate and he drank it quickly. They talked for a few more minutes and a few other people joined the circle before breakfast was served and everyone got to work. Cactus, Dizzy and Skitch walked back up to their house with Zach to pack what they would need for the journey. They quickly loaded up their clothes and toiletries and a few personal items. Skitch brought two notebooks, erasers and pencils, Cactus packed three books that she had saved and Dizzy took a few of his treasured crystals. Then they put in some small lamps, matches, Dizzy's flint and steel, some first aid supplies and a small sewing kit. There wasn't much in the panniers when they brought them down to the Platform, but by the time they had finished in the kitchens they were quite full. Zach, being the expert on bicycle travel, directed them to find oats, honey, cheese, mate, several different types of tea, a few loaves of bread, some yogurt and various vegetables that they would either eat later that day or would keep for a few days.

"After we eat them, though, we'll have to do more foraging," he said, when they had packed the last of the food into the bags. "Hopefully we can catch some of the late plants. Though we may not have a lot of time every day if we want to make it far enough south before winter hits."

"That would suck a lot to get stuck on a bike in a blizzard in the mountains," Skitch agreed.

"We may have to pedal pretty hard, but we should be able to make it. Now, we need to find you guys some water bottles. You'll want about four or five each, or more."

"Let's go check the storage room," Dizzy suggested. The others agreed and they made their way down to their handiwork. Once there, they found twelve metal water bottles of various sizes and shapes and a few water skins. The divided them up, filled them and attached them to the bikes with hemp rope, carabiners and the water bottle holders that were already on Cactus' and Skitch'sbikes. "So I guess that's everything," Dizzy said when they had finished and were standing back to admire the bicycles.

"Yep. Are you guys ready to go?" Zach asked. "Though I do think we should probably wait until we've had lunch. Then we'll be all stocked up and you can get a big farewell from everyone." The nodded and dispersed. Skitch went to her chore, gardening, and Dizzy and Zach went to the kitchen to help with lunch. Cactus, not wanting to do any work, went to visit Itch again. He was sitting up in bed, reading a book that someone had given him.

"Hey, you're looking much better," Cactus said as she entered. "How are you feeling?"

"Pretty all right," he replied. "You haven't come to visit me much. What's with that?"

"I was packing and working. Sorry."

"Packing? So you're really leaving us?"

"'Fraid so, man. You don't mind right?" He grinned and gave her a wink. "I thought you wouldn't." They both laughed and talked for almost an hour before the bell was rung for lunch. "So when is Yuki gonna let you walk again?"

"She said a couple more days because I'm apparently healing pretty fast. I'm allowed to get out of bed and walk to the bookshelf, though, so that's a good thing."

"For sure. But, I should probably go eat lunch. We're going to be leaving right after so..." She leaned down and gave him a hug. "I'll see you in a few years, man. You better be better by then."

"You better get back here in a few years," he laughed. "Have a really good trip, Cactus. I hope you come back with amazing stories." They let go, said a last good bye and Cactus walked down to the Platform feeling pretty good. There were slightly teary farewells going on when she reached the bottom, and she was immediately pulled into a billion embraces and given even more good luck than she had before. Someone shoved a plate into her hand and she ate quickly as she tried to find her family and Zach. When she saw them, standing beside the bikes, she took her last mouthful, put the plate down and walked over to them. Before she made it though, she was spun around and hugged by Drummah.

"Have a good trip, girly," the black girl said. "We're gonna miss you so much, so you had better come back with some truly epic stories to tell."

"It's funny, Itch just told me the same thing." They both laughed, hugged again and Cactus took the last few meters to the bikes. Smear and Skitch were talking quietly a few feet away and Zach was making sure everything was good with the bikes before they lowered them.

"You ready, sister?" Dizzy asked.

"Absolutely. You?" He thought a moment.

"Yeah, I think I am. After all, now is as good a time as any to travel, right?"

"Right. Are we ready to lower, Zach?"

"Yes indeed," he replied, standing up and stretching. "Can you hand me that rope, Dizzy? Thank you." He tied the rope securely around the first bike. "Okay, one of us needs to go down first so we can lower the bikes to them."

"I'll go," Dizzy said and immediately clambered down the ladder then motioned for them to go ahead and lower. Cactus took the rope tightly in hand and Zach slipped the bike over the edge of the Platform. Cactus jerked forward a bit even though she had braced for the weight, but she caught it and began sliding it smoothly to the ground.

"Okay, Skitch, get over here and help out. I think you two have had enough time to say good-bye," Cactus drawled. Skitch made a face at her back and turned back to Smear.

"Safe journey, love," he told her.

"I'll see you in a couple years. I-" She took a deep breath. "I was going to say something, but there's no need, is there?" Smear shook his head. "Okay. I love you."

"I love you, too." They kissed for a long moment, enticing a few 'awe's from the villagers, and broke away. Smear stepped back with a smile and Skitch helped to tie the last bicycle and lift it over the edge. Then she and Zach climbed down and he rolled the bicycle over to the trunk and leaned it as they waited for Cactus, who alighted on the ground a few moments later.

"Okay, let us be off," she said, smiling hugely. Skitch was instantly infected by her cheerfulness and smiled broadly as well, all her sorrows at leaving Smear wiped away for the moment. They wheeled their bikes onto the faint path, mounted and started pedaling. The villagers of the Haida Gwaii Free-dom looked on, shouting farewells and singing as the sunlight streamed down through the leaves and their friends disappeared into the growth.