Chapter 2

The guests would be there any minute and the house was still not ready. This was an annual tradition for Mary Kinlan where ever she lived. Here it was a way of getting to know the neighbors. Ivy was not interested in the least bit. She sat on the stairs watching her mother hustle back and forth between the living room and the kitchen.

"Why are we doing this, Mom?" Ivy asked for the tenth time as she watched her mother bustling around the kitchen. "I thought you said this thanksgiving would just be family."

"And the dinner was just us," Mary replied. She adjusted the curlers in her auburn hair, glancing at Ivy for a moment. "This is just like after dinner drinks. It's a way of meeting the neighbors. Maybe you'll make some friends."

"Sure," Ivy nodded. "The kids at school already think I'm a freak."

Mary's hands dropped from her hair. "Oh, no. What did you do now?"

"I solved the college-level equation the math teacher gave as extra credit in my head," Ivy said. "The teacher didn't even know the answer. He just put it up to try and confuse everyone."

"Ivy, you're a very gifted young woman," Mary said. "You're going to go places in life. Not everyone is going to understand you."

"I'm okay with that," Ivy said. "It's easier to survive that way."

Mary pressed her lips together. "Will you at least try and socialize a bit tonight? Go put something nice on."

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Ivy asked, glancing down at her blue jeans and casual top.

"There might or might not be a few young men coming,"

"Mother!" Ivy said in disbelief. "I do have a boyfriend."

"In New York," Mary said.

"He's in Iraq, Mom," Ivy said. "He got deployed last month."

Mary stopped, nearly slamming a bowl of snack mix on the dining table. "I know that, Ivy. We're just worried about you. You seem anxious."

Ivy rubbed her eyes. Her parents could read her like a book. "It's not Ryan. Yes. I am worried about him, but that's not it. It's this place. It gives me the creeps."

"It's an Army base, Ivy. You've been living on one for years."

"That's not what I mean," Ivy said. She swallowed. "There's just something that bothers me about Gillette. I haven't really been able to sleep since we got here."

"You don't look any worse for it," Mary said, patting Ivy on the shoulder. "Maybe you should talk to a therapist. You know they really helped you come out of your shell before."

"No!" Ivy said protectively. She regretted snapping at her the woman. "It's got to pass eventually."

"Okay," Mary said. "But it might do you some good to try socializing a bit. Go change."

Ivy rolled her eyes and stood, trudging up the stairs. She was not looking forward to the party.


Donald Lydecker sat at his desk in Manticore's center of operations. His desk was sparse with little on it save for a few documents waiting to be signed. His eyes were surveying the line of head shots adhered to his office wall. Twelve defiant sets of eyes stared back at him. They were all children. They ranged in age from seven to eleven. That had been ten years ago. Now, the ones that had not been captured were still at large somewhere out in the world. No one really knew what they looked like anymore. He wondered what kind of people they had grown into.

What then was the purpose of the photographs on the wall?

Lydecker kept them as a reminder. They were a reminder of one of his failures. A failure he would right if at all possible. He wanted to bring them all "home." He wanted to help each of them fulfill their purpose in life. That was something that they would not find out there on the streets. The colonel glanced at a few of the faces he knew the best; at the ones he had not brought home. He would find them someday. It would just take time.

Lydecker stood and picked up the empty coffee cup sitting on his desk. Maybe caffeine would help clear his head. He picked up the cup and left his office.

To his surprise the rest of the office was bare with the exception of Lieutenant Smith, a red-haired man in his early twenties. Smith looked up at Lydecker as the Colonel passed. "You're still here, Sir?"

Lydecker only nodded. "Does that surprise you?"

"No, Sir. It's just that Major Kinlan and his wife are throwing a party," The Lieutenant explained. "I believe you were invited, Sir."

Lydecker recalled receiving an invitation and nodded. "What was that for?"

"It's for Thanksgiving, Sir," Smith remarked. "That is today."

Lydecker glanced at the calendar, wondering how he could have lost track of the time. "So it is. I'm too busy working to preserve what we have left of America. It'll have to wait."

"No offense, Sir, but Manticore will still be here. Things around here have been really busy lately. Everyone deserves a break."

Lydecker stared at the Lieutenant. Ordinarily he would have snapped or reprimanded the soldier for being less than professional. Now all he did was nod. "You're dismissed, Lieutenant."