The Hanging Tree

Chapter 5: The Unknown

Even though I was quite tired when I went to bed that night, I had trouble falling asleep, and, even then, it was restless. Tossing and turning. Nightmares of war, whole towns burning, people laying, bleeding or dead in the street.

I woke up before the sun had truly risen and just stayed awake to avoid more nightmares. Today was going to be a long day. I thought about feigning sickness, an old trick to get out of going to the education center, but thought better of it when I thought of my need to confirm that I would see Harvester tonight.

I forced myself out of bed and mechanically got dressed. I was so tired that I barely ate anything for breakfast, which I know I'll regret later.

Once I'm out the door I notice Planter next door wearing gloves and holding a small shovel in his right hand, waving his left hand as he talks animatedly with another man on the sidewalk. When he noticed that I was out he stopped talking and looked at me with narrowed eyes, making a gesture that clearly meant that he wished to continue the conversation inside, perhaps over drinks. He walked up the garden path and to his door which he help open for his guest. That's odd. Planter usually acknowledges me when we are both outside, either with a wave or a verbal greeting. Though the streets aren't normally a social place.

I dismiss this as thoughts of Harvester come flying back into my head. We really needed to talk. There's so much she doesn't know, and so much that I don't understand... We sort of help each other out in that way, I get the information, since she doesn't communicate with her parents well, and she sorts it out and gives it meaning.

A few minutes later I looked up and found myself at the education center, not remembering how I got there. The day went by at an unendurably slow pace. The only highlight was when I finally caught up with Harvester and confirmed our meeting at Midnight. She had seemed more reluctant than usual, whispering as low as she could while still making herself heard, "I don't know if we should do this anymore, Gizmo. This whole situation is getting more dangerous than I think either of us realize." At this my eyes widened slightly. Maybe she was more well informed than I believed.

As I was walking to my next class, mechanical engineering, I was lost in thought. I was jolted back into reality when I hit someones shoulder and I watched both of our books fly out of our hands. I looked into the person's face as I said, "Oh, I'm so sorry." I saw that it was an older boy named Miner. We had spoken a few times, exchanged grins in the hallways if we saw each other, but we weren't exactly friends. He had sad sorry at the same time I had and we both chuckled. We said, again at the same time, "It's no problem." I helped him gather his books and he helped me gather mine and we were off on our own separate pursuits.

I found out, at the very last minute, that we were taking a test, which would have been terrible even if I had studied. After that, time did not seem to speed up, but went by, unbelievably, more slowly.

Finally it was time to go home. When I walked up to my doorway Planter was again outside, though he was doing regular yard work instead of suspiciously socializing. Dinner that night was tense because my dad had brought home news of 7 more arrests and 3 more executions.

"Do you think this is really happening," asked my mother in a frantic voice. "I don't know, it's hard to say. It certainly seems like it though, doesn't it," replied my father in a tone of forced calm. My mother wasn't fooled. She could see the fear hidden just behind the mask. It was rather quiet after that, other than the scraping of forks and Builder clearing away dishes to wash.

After dinner my family went to get ready for bed. I stayed behind to warn Builder. She knew, of course, that I frequently broke out of the house to meet up with Harvester. So, when I was sure that my family was out of earshot, I told Builder that I'd be going out tonight. She gave me a look that I understood meant that she wouldn't alert anyone to my disappearance. I think she knows how important these meetings with Harvester are to me. She knows that they are half of what keeps me sane. So few people could understand the importance of having someone special to be able to lay it all out on the table for the both of you to sort through.