Chapter 4

It was several weeks before Kevin was back on the reserve. He came here a month ago with Karen to gather information but he spent most of that time with Rachel. Rachel and him had known each other since they were children on and off again, considering he grew up in the forest while her family stayed here. However over the years they stayed friends, which blossomed into something more.

They were both young and going through that period of time of coming into their own; young adults maturing. Their playful friendship shifted from humorous friendly encounters to awkward glances and stuttering.

Unfortunately for them Karen came across some urgent information that had her, Kevin and their relation Peter pack up and head south. Kevin was given half an hour to say good-bye to Rachel. There were promises to return, she packed him some perishable food and then they kissed their goodbyes.

Now he was back, and while Karen went to meet with the community leaders, Kevin was given leave to find Rachel. She was surprised to see him and they continued their earlier kiss, but Rachel had other plans that they had to leave the house for, she had six roommates including her parents.

She took him half an hour into the fields where they stopped at a collection of six birch trees that created a secluded room. She unraveled her sleeping bag and a wool blanket she knitted herself. It was here that they made love under the half moon and stars. It was her first time so Kevin was nervous wanting to make it perfect.

Afterwards they spooned naked and enjoyed the surreal sense of peace the moment created. Kevin kissed her shoulder and she smiled while his fingers lightly traced her body. He moved them down her arm to her hand where she curled her fingers in his.

He settled for awhile but began to move again, to her breasts using the back of his fingers, testing their softness before he moved to feel the side of her stomach and swell of her hips. He used his full hand to move toward her pelvis but stopped just above where her pubic hair began. She thought he was being sensual as he was still using an enjoyable light touch, but then she realized what he was doing and smirked.

"Are you checking me for scars?" She mused.

"What?" He said, and pulled his hand back to her hip. "No."

"It's ok," She shifted until she was fully on her back and put herself on complete display for him. "You can look."

Taken off guard, Kevin's breath caught in his throat, but he smiled and kissed her before looking her body over. There was nothing overly special about Rachel to the world at large, she was average height at five foot six, her skin was a tanned shade of brown and her dark hair stretched down to her waist. In a crowd she would simply blend in. Kevin thought she was flawless though, and stood out anywhere.

"I haven't done anything. I wouldn't let them." She said. Parents were given the option to have their daughters sterilized in exchange for more rations. When they became adults the option was given to both men and woman, with the added benefit of being removed from the Hunted list. You get to live, but your race dies. "Satisfied?"

"In every way possible," Kevin kissed her again, hating himself for checking but hating more that he had to. He pulled back when she laughed into his mouth. "What are you laughing at?"

"You," She smirked, "Sex one time and you're already thinking kids."

"I'm not thinking kids."

"You just checked to see if I was still fertile or not, that's a good indication you're thinking kids."

"Maybe."

"Have you thought maybe I don't want kids?" She raised her eyebrows.

"You don't want kids?"

"I'm a young woman with her whole life ahead of her, I'm not really old enough to know what I want. Maybe I want a career. I'm smart with a lot of prospects, and you want to tie me down with a pack of rug rats?"

"You're a loon."

"I read a lot, they fill my head with a lot of crazy ideas."

"Yeah." Kevin went back to kissing her.

Three weeks before, a young lady in Karen's network let her know that months of planning were paying off south of the border; but she would have to be there personally to see it through. The problem wasn't that she wasn't willing to go, it was the obstacles that separated her from the United States.

Karen, Kevin and Peter spent a week travelling toward the border, finding food along the way; that was child's play to them. Things started to become more difficult the closer they got to the border; they had to move sporadically as they encountered security patrols. Natives were strictly forbidden to leave the reserve, so the Government invested heavily into the Civilian Militia and Military Reserves to patrol south of Indian Territories; more so toward the border as it was imperative Canadian problems didn't leak out.

Ten kilometers from the border they knew there were unmanned drones overhead. They couldn't see them but they were there, watching everything with state of the art high definition cameras. Even travelling at night was an issue. The cameras had both thermal and night vision low light technology. All it took was to be spotted by one of them and they would've had an army on top of them, or worse, a rocket from the same drone. No fuss, no mess.

They crossed the border in a small town that straddled both countries, with the pharmacy in Canada and their bowling ally in the United States. The border itself was the yellow line down the middle of the street. There were border security here as well as in the form of uniforms and cameras, but once inside the Pharmacy they felt safe. This was the first time Karen has made this trip but she's been told through reliable sources it was safe to let their guard down, not that they would though. The Pharmacist led them to the basement where a tunnel was dug fifty feet below the street.

The Pharmacist took them through the narrow passage with flashlights, the walls were dirt and gravel mixed with wood planks, well below the towns plumbing. It was angled downward till the middle of the street before angling up so it formed almost a 'V' shape. Peter had to help the Pharmacist as they started up on the other side, holding onto the ropes; their feet gripped rock steps. Soon they could see light from the other end as it led into a basement of pipes. Peter tensed up when he saw the distinctive black uniform of the Homeland Security officer.

"It's ok." The pharmacist said to them, in his sixties with wire thin glasses he just gave off the complete vibe of being trustworthy. He moved forward toward the officer. "Hello Bob."

"Steven, what have you got for me tonight?" Bob said; a bearded man six foot two, bulky from years of loving at the gym. A monster of a man.

"Well, I've got some..."

"Refugees?"

"Nope, nope. I don't think they're planning on staying." Steven looked back at Karen. She shook her head. "Nope, here for a day or two and then back across."

"Come forward." Bob ordered. Karen and her two companions stepped into the basement, noticing there were two other uniformed men watching, both armed. A large Doberman dog sat next to one of the men, docile looking but everybody knew that with the right word it would become almost Satanic. The basement was what they expected in a bowling alley, pins and boxes, spare clothes and food supplies for the snack bar. What was out of place was the almost militaristic presence.

"Name?"

"Karen Cardinal."

"Weapons?" Bob asked as he typed the name into the laptop computer next to him.

"No." Karen answered.

"You have a good reason why you'd be crossing this border and then going back?"

"I do."

"You want to share it with the class." Bob said. Karen glanced over at the other two men wondering if she could take them out.

"We're visiting someone."

"Who?"

"What is this?" Karen looked to Steven for an explanation.

"I'm asking the questions?"

"Sorry Bob," Steven stepped forward, "I don't think she's from the area, she's not come through here before, I don't think she actually knows what's going on?"

Bob sighed, then nodded. "You're only illegal on that side."

"Ok." Karen said.

"What he means is that in the United States you can move around freely, the Jay Treaty is still recognized here. So they are aware..."

"It doesn't mean we're going to let undesirables in," Bob added. Karen didn't know what the Jay Treaty was, signed in 1794 it was an agreement between Great Britain and the United States recognizing that Indians predated the border and were allowed to cross unhindered for work and trade. Canada had a history of ignoring treaties involving Indians and this one was no different.

"So you still have border guards...hidden?" Karen asked.

"Think of it like the reverse Underground Railroad." Steven states.

"Does Canada know you do this?"

"I don't live my life based on what Canada thinks." Bob smirked.

"You and me both." Karen said. She liked Bob, "We're here to see Doctor Susan Smith."

"I see." Bob knew who she was. After being assigned to this job he kept up on the relevant politics. "Welcome to the United States of America."

Kevin and Peter went through the same line of questioning before Steven escorted them up the stairs into the bowling alley. Using the back halls they're led to the alley way where a Subaru waited for them. Heather stood in front of it.

Heather was only five feet tall with short slightly curled black hair, dressed in a green and yellow dress that hitched at the waist, designed so her large breasts stood out more. Karen could only wonder why this white suburban Mom was here to welcome them. She should've been off somewhere running a bake sale.

"Wow, you guys look tired," Heather looked them over, three Indians from the bush covered in two weeks worth of mud, "And smelly."

"I'll leave you with Heather, you can trust her. She'll call me when you're ready to come back and I'll get you across the border." Steven said. Peter shook his hand and the elder man left.

"Thank-you," Karen acknowledged Steve and then looked back to Heather.

Karen was right during the drive out of town she sat in the passenger seat and she talked with Heather while the men slept in the back. Heather was a suburban mom that spent her time helping the PTA with bake sales with three kids all entering their teenage years. Her husband was a dental surgeon so they were well off. None of which explained how she became involved in this.

"Oh, that's my friend Angela's fault. She heard about what was going on and got everybody involved. We made pins and everything." She smiled, "You'll like Angela. She's Jewish."

Karen arched her eyebrows.

Somewhere along the drive Karen fell asleep and when they came to they were pulling into the yard of a two story farm house in the middle of nowhere; the sun had already gone down but there was enough light to see the tractor and large barn in the back.

"Is she here?" Karen asked.

"No, this is just were we meet." Heather said as she turned off the horn and started climbing out.

"Great, our contacts are Heather of the PTA and Ma and Pa Kettle." Peter joked from the backseat.

Karen sighed and climbed out.

Inside the house Peter was almost right as they were introduced to an elderly white couple named Bill and Diane both were in their sixties but were still spry enough to run a farm on their own. Karen scanned the living room to see a wall of kids and grandkids. The area whole area was light brown and very homely. The three Indians seemed awkward here but went with the flow.

They're offered one of the two showers so Peter and Kevin took one each to get cleaned up. Their clothes were replaced as Diane took theirs to the laundry room. Karen was taken to the kitchen and given her first full meal in two years; scrambled eggs, back bacon, hash browns and toast. She wolfed it down quickly and didn't even mind that Bill, Diane and Heather stood by watching her.

Once the boys were done their showers Diane ran the tub for Karen, and she took the first warm bath she's had in ten years, settling into it with a sigh.

An hour later she climbed out, dressed and was then given a queen sized bed in the guest room. Settling in she fell asleep almost instantly, and didn't wake until just after two in the afternoon.