2025 The Remnant

Chapter One
“Do you trust him, Danny?” Lydia asked.
Twenty-year-old Daniel Jordan continued untying the ancient fishing boat they’d traded for his Honda motorcycle. How he did it Daniel didn’t know, but his father located the nearest safe house to the prison and left his motorcycle in case Daniel ever escaped.
He looked over his shoulder at the grinning man covered with tattoos and wearing a peace earring. “No, Lydia, I don’t trust him, but it’s our only chance. We have to get across the Rainey River to Canada and we can’t go through any of the border crossings.”
Daniel was right. No dissident got through the border due to state-of-the-art face and retina recognition. Daniel and Lydia’s prison records would identify them. Aided by the people at Liberty Farm, an underground safe house, they’d left Kansas. The sheriff, who’d advised the Rainey River crossing, warned them to avoid any government border.
Despite Daniel’s beard and Lydia’s altered appearance, the retina recognition would set off alarms as soon as they entered. Lydia gazed at the river, mesmerized by the searchlights crisscrossing the dark waters. Night had fallen. Somewhere on the opposite shore they’d learned a village for dissidents existed. Where it was they weren’t sure.
“Step into the boat, Lydia. I’ll hold it for you.”
Lydia hesitated. The bottom of the boat was filled with dirty rainwater. Leaves and bugs floated on top icy water. She shuddered and put her foot in. The cold temperature numbed her but, she reminded herself; she was free. And…she’d experienced much worse circumstances at Leavenworth Prison when she and Daniel were exiled from the new capital—The City of Gold. She shook the cobwebs from her mind…no more starving, no more brutal treatment from matrons who’d sheared her hair, no more seeing innocent people dying.
Daniel pulled the rip cord on the ancient motor and the small fishing boat started up.
In the distance, they could see government border patrol boats circling. Daniel waited until they’d passed before leaving the shore. He glanced back once more. Would the owner of the boat report them immediately to the border patrol so that he could regain his boat to scam the next victims trying to cross to safety? It was a chance they’d have to take. Their only chance.
The river was choppy. A nasty wind worked against them as Daniel angled the boat towards a wooded area on the Canadian shore. River water splashed up the sides of the boat chilling their already damp bodies. Daniel concentrated on steering the boat. A beam from the border patrol crossed the boat.
“Can they see us with those lights?” asked Lydia.
What could he say? Daniel breathed a prayer for help from their new God. He’d shown Himself as a light to follow out of the prison. He’d covered them with a cloud so the guards couldn’t see their escape. He was alive. He knew. And He seemed to be protecting them.
Before Daniel could answer Lydia, the old boat engine died.
“Daniel, we’re drifting right toward the crossing,” Lydia screamed.
Daniel grabbed the weather-beaten oars fastened to the side of the boat and began to row. His muscles strained against the current of the river. A foghorn blast and flashing lights revealed a military border patrol cruiser blocking their way. Hope dashed, they waited for instructions from the patrol.
The guards on the cruiser tied the small fishing craft to their side, then they transferred the young couple to the cruiser and headed for their patrol center. “Do you have any identification?” the officer asked.
Daniel looked at Lydia, seeing stark fear in her eyes. “No, sir. No identification.”
The cruiser pulled up to a shore building. The two crew members looked Daniel and Lydia over.
“You’ll have to come inside.”
Seeing the auburn stubble covering Daniel’s face, he continued, “We know you are dissidents from your appearance.”
Three days of travel and camping in a national forest reserve, sleeping on a blanket in the rain, caused an odor of wet leather. They had been unable to shower or brush their teeth. Lydia’s dark hair hung in wet ringlets, embedded with debris from riding in the wind. Dark circles surrounded her eyes. Her mouth felt like garbage from swallowing whatever the wind blew their way, and her body sagged from the weight of the wet clothing. She couldn’t feel her feet anymore.
The patrol leader ushered them into the office, picked up a scanner, and ran it over their bodies. Surprised at the results of the scan he looked up. “Escaped from Leavenworth Prison?”
Recognition meant return to prison, or worse—depending on the mood of the Prophet and the president.
Daniel’s refusal to bow in allegiance to the golden statue of the president had infuriated both the president (Omega I) and the vice president (the Prophet). Daniel and Lydia immediately became dissidents joining the ranks of those who could not live with the new government.
The officer picked up his communicator. Was he calling the government to remove them? Daniel put his arm around Lydia’s shaking shoulders. After all the harrowing escapes along the journey, to be caught now…
“Take a seat. Stay here until I return.” The patrol leader left the office, closing the door behind him.
“Oh, Danny, I’m so sad. We almost made it.” Lydia began to cry softly. Huge waves of guilt drowned Daniel. He was responsible for everything that happened to Lydia. She’d only tried to befriend him at the ceremony where he found out later she was to be named President of the Youth Council. What had he done? First the loss of their work and life in the City of Gold, then prison in Leavenworth, and now recapture? He held his head in his hands, feeling totally defeated. Oh God, he whispered, where are You now? Did You bring us so far to abandon us?
The patrol leader re-entered followed by a strange man dressed in khakis and a navy sweater. His face was weathered although he appeared to be in his late 50s. Salt-and-pepper hair framed steel gray eyes.
“This is my friend, Ben Whitaker. He is the director of Maranatha Village.”
What was happening? Who was this border patrol?
“You aren’t taking us in custody?” said Daniel.
“No, son, we’re the Canadian River Patrol. We save as many as we can. Ben here
said to keep an eye open for you. The folks at Liberty Farm sent a message alerting him. We weren’t sure it was you until we scanned you.”
A concerned smile filled Ben’s face. He didn’t think any of those they’d rescued had looked as bad as these two young people. He reached out his hand. “Come with me. How does a shower and some good food sound to you?”
Now Lydia was sobbing. They weren’t returning to prison? Ben was the director of the dissident village? They’d actually be able to start a new life? She couldn’t believe it. She turned to Daniel. “We made it, Danny. We made it.”