Hunted

Chapter 22: On Chanos

If Jack Haley had been in a posh room's hot tub in the finest hotel back on Earth, he wouldn't have felt more surrounded by luxury and comfort. He was bathing in a stream some hundred meters from the Chanok settlement, and as the cool water washed away the accumulated dirt and smells of weeks of running, it seemed to draw his fears and concerns along as well. At first he had been self-conscious, not only about being naked so close to Chelle and the others, but being naked against his pursuers as well. He had vivid visions of two assassins flashing into existence while he was totally defenseless, and pictured his exposed body being discovered with two pulse gun holes bored through his chest. But Chelle had shown him a spot nicely hidden behind a group of trees and left him his privacy, and as the water started to do its magic, he felt better than he had for weeks.

When he finally left the stream, it was reluctantly, and when he slipped back into his bodysuit he felt less clean immediately. He had refused when Chelle had offered to clean his clothes, and he was standing by that decision, at least for now. It would take them hours to dry, and he didn't want to wear the native garb in case he had to move fast. The Chanok clothing would make him stick out anywhere but here. He double-checked to make sure the device was still in his pocket.

His pace back to the village was slow, just like his bath and breakfast before that had been. Suddenly he didn't need to run anymore, and it was a wonderful feeling just to move at a casual pace and enjoy the very simplest things in life once again.

He paused to look to the horizon, where the rising sun was peeking over deep maroon mountains. The sky was high and pale blue, and it contrasted sharply with the forest green grass, which flowed in waves as the wind directed it. In the distance, livestock was being allowed to roam freely to graze. Opposite, a healthy, tall crop of wheat and corn grew. Haley inhaled the air deeply, savoring it the same way as his eyes took in the sights. Chelle was wrong, he thought. He could live here.

But only if he had no other responsibilities. Janet was the first and the only one necessary to make him face the inevitable. He would have to return home eventually, have to face his opposition. It might be on their terms or his, but face them he must. But not yet.

Chelle ran toward him, beaming as if seeing her lost lover after many years. As she sliced through the tall grass, Haley was reminded of the cliched scene of lovers rushing to greet each other in an open field. He pictured himself racing toward her, of sweeping her into a long embrace, of running his hands through the long strands of silky brown hair. And then when they released one another, he looked into eyes that could only belong to...Sarah.

"You must enjoy bathing," Chelle said. "I was beginning to think you might have drowned."

Haley smile was a touch embarrassed. "It's been a little longer between baths than normal."

"Well, I am glad you are done. We still have time to look around a bit before lunch. I finished most of my work while you were at the stream."

"Lead on," he said.

* * *

They traveled east for a good thirty minutes. Chelle vaguely explained the Chanok lifestyle to Haley, and he soon understood that they were little more than a farming community intent on using their hands and brains more than machines. Chanos had provided them with ample fertile farmland, and the Lumen had given them some degree of peace and tranquility.

Eventually, the thick grass and flat fields in which the Chanok raised crops gave way to slightly rockier terrain. Trees, abundant near the settlement, were now more sparse. "Are we going somewhere in particular, or are we just going to go this way until we get lost?" he asked.