Fields

II

I walk up and down the rows of shimmer, picking the ones that are ripe. When my hands are full I carry them to a greenhouse and leave them in there. It helps dry them out as well as storage for us. We come and check on our shimmer field twice a day at 11am and 4pm. We rarely spend more than half an hour tending to them. If father finds a survivor he will let them eat our shimmer and if they're good of heart they'll live but if they're bad they'll die. No one has came home with Father yet. They're all just bad people. We grow our own food here at paradise, not in the woods with the shimmer though but in the orchard, that's between the meadow and the fence. After we've finished for the afternoon, we have free time unless it's breakfast, lunch or dinner. Which is at 10am, 2pm and 7pm. Mum and Auntie get the meals ready for us, but we have to retrieve the food from the orchard. It was a hot day today, maybe 27 degrees, but that didn't mind me. I could just go for a quick swim at the river later. 

I ran along by the fence, keeping a metre from it at all times. I felt really brave today so I put my left ear 30 centimeters away from it. I could hear a low hum of magic coming from it. Each little wire was grey but had a faint blue glow. Dad called the magic he used 'voltage.' It was his special powers that kept it alive, so anyone trying to get in or out would get cooked alive. I kept heading towards the other side of the wood, where the river lay, our river. 

I slipped my shoes and socks off, my socks we're drenched with sweat. The rocks burnt the bottoms of my feet. I quickly pulled off my red shorts and black top. I was wearing my black bra and undies. I've had these ones since I was about 12, that was when father found a whole heap of clothes somewhere and brought them back for us. I walked to the edge of the slow flowing water, I walked in so it was about knee height. It was cold but refreshing. All of a sudden I started running and dove under. I swam out to the deepest part which went up to my chin. Only Tedrick and I come out this far, sometimes Simon will come but he's normally helping out in the houses. The currents not very strong so I float on the surface and let it slowly pull me along. Then I swim back up to the top of the river and let it pull me along again. I can repeat this over and over for hours on days like this. I was lying on top of the water looking up into the sky when I heard something on the rocks, I thought it was probably just a rabbit so I didn't bother moving. Then I heard something splashing about in the water and I went to roll over. But I was too late. Tedrick jumped up and came crashing down on me, pushing us both under. I kicked off of the bottom and poked my head back above the water. "Teddy!" I shouted at him. He started cracking up laughing. I looked at him and he held my gaze. "RACE YOU!" We both shouted. Then like a silent gun went off in our heads we started swimming and thrashing our way up the river. Each determined to be the first to the top where an old willow over hang the river. 

We sat up in the water, leaning our backs up against a large rock. This has been one of the most peaceful days since the accident. Tedrick looked straight out over the water into the trees. "What's playing on your mind Teddy?" I asked him.

He turns his head to look at me. "You know I think your Dad's lying to us all Cameron."

This can't be true, my father would never lie. Especially after what happened with his own brother. "He wouldn't lie." I said it rather coldly, But my Dad wouldn't do that. Would he?

Tedrick stood up and waddled out of the water. "I need to show you something Cam." I stood up and followed him out of the river. I picked up  my shorts and pulled them on, slipped my shoes on and put my socks in my shorts pocket. Then hurried after Tedrick and yanked my top over my head while we walked. We walked out of the woods and past the shimmer plot, through the meadow and to the old run-down garage. Tedrick went in before me and sat down on a bar stool by the work bench. I shut the garage door behind me and went and sat on the other stool next to him. 

"So what did you wanna show me?" I asked.

"Okay, so I've been playing with these old little boxes that I found around in the rubbles. And sometimes if I join the wires in the right way,  another human voice will come through. But I haven't figured out what way the wires go, just sometimes by luck I can hear them. For like a couple seconds." He stopped and took a long breath in and out. 

"So your saying you think that there might be other people out there?" I ask.

"I think there is other people out there Camie."