Читать книгу The Tree Within - Stephen Campana - Страница 10

Jack followed slowly behind as Mr. Hall lead the way along the long, wide perimeter of the factory floor, which was a maze of conveyer belts, stacks of merchandise, and pallet jacks. In place of air conditioning, the massive room was cooled by fans, placed strategically throughout the floor. Even so, it was sweltering. Every so often Hall would stop, point something out, then continue the tour. He finished by handing him off to another worker, who he instructed to show Jack the ropes. He was an older fellow, about sixty, with a slight paunch, big beefy arms, and a patch over one eye. “I’ll take it from here,” he assured Hall as the office manager thanked him and scuttled off to attend to other business.

The two men stood side by side behind a conveyer belt, one in five rows of such belts that took up most of the factory floor. Behind each belt stood four workers, spaced about three yards apart, with each one performing a particular task to prepare an item for shipment. The items in question were filters, the kind used in AC and furnace vents. Jack’s job, it appeared, would be to take two filters, place them on top of each other, then pass them down the line. The old man, next in line, would put a press on them from an overhead hanger, then move them down to the next person. At any rate, that’s how the older gentleman explained it, and it worked for Jack. He began slinging the filters down the line. As he worked, every so often, the older gentleman would offer a brief instruction, correction, or just a thumbs up sign. After an hour or so, the man said: “Not exactly exciting work, is it?”

“Not really,” Jack smiled, wiping the sweat from his brow “But it pays the bills.”

“That’s about the size of it,” the man said. “By the way, my name’s Kurt.”

“I’m Jack,” Jack replied.

“So, Jack,” Kurt asked, eying him curiously, “How’s a guy like you wind up at a place like this?”

The question did not offend Jack. There was no trace of judgment in Kurt’s voice. “Well, it’s like this,” Jack said, and proceeded to tell the man the absolute truth. He told him about the attempts on his life growing up, how he left home to protect his family, how he moved from town to town to keep a step ahead of the assassins, and how he had been chosen to lead the world back to the garden of Eden. When he was finished, Kurt just stared at him curiously for several moments, then threw his head back and let out a big, hearty laugh. “Oh, that’s good!” he said, waving a finger at Jack. “That’s really good. You should write that down. Might make a good book.”

“Ya think?” Jack asked, passing down some more filters. “Oh, yeah,” Kurt said, still chuckling. “That’s some good stuff. You’ve got a good imagination, kid.”

“Thank you,” Jack said. He could tell by the man’s cadence, his enunciation, and just his general presence that he was an intelligent person. In fact, he might have asked the man the same question he had just asked him, because he knew this man was capable of much greater things than slinging filters down a conveyer belt. He thought about asking but decided not to. There would be plenty of time for that. For now, he would just keep his mouth shut and do his job. Which is exactly what he did for the next two hours, until he saw something that changed everything. Someone, actually.

She was three rows up, standing at the second slot on the first conveyer built. She had turned to say something to the person next to her, so he caught only a side glance, but he thought it was her, and suddenly, a wave of exhilaration swept through him with such force that he had to lean up against the conveyor belt to keep from falling. It wasn’t just exhilaration; it was something he had not felt much of in a long time—hope. A hope that this girl, whom he had seen in his dreams every day since puberty, whom he thought, most likely, was a figment of his imagination, a carrot on a stick that he would never touch, was, in fact, real. He steadied himself against the conveyor belt and took a deep breath. He had to know, and he had to know now. He looked at Kurt and said “I need a drink of water. I’ll be right back.”

“No hurry,” Kurt replied amicably.

Jack made his way down the side of the factory floor, past all the conveyor belts, up to the front of the room, where he got himself a drink. As he slurped up the water flowing up from the fountain, he could feel his heart racing with fearful anticipation. What if it wasn’t her? Well, if it wasn’t her, then it wasn’t her; it would only serve to further confirm what he already suspected: God liked to play cruel jokes. He was a sick, sadistic prick. But if it was her? Well, then suddenly his world, gray and closed and suffocating, would open up like a flower greeting a fresh ray of sunlight. He took a deep breath, marshaled his courage, and turned around for a good look.

It was her.

With his head in the clouds, he went back to his station, and resumed his duties. For a few moments, he actually felt like he could float, and at one point he felt his feet leaving the ground and had to look down to make sure he was still fastened to the earth. He was. But nothing would be the same again now that he had seen her in the flesh—the girl who was supposed to help him lead humanity back to the garden of Eden. Eve.