Chapter 2: The House on the Hill

Once the Reaping was done, it took some time for the chaos to die and the reality of their survival to come clear to the majority of the people who remained.

Eventually those people selected recognized leaders, and those leaders made the decisions that brought the river-state called Columbia into existence. The people of the new nation, now Earth's only nation, sought some way to show their appreciation to Sam Kendall. For his part, Sam flatly refused statues and memorials, not that some weren't erected anyway. Sam refused to be recognized for the act of having simply being chosen by an agent or agents still unknown to them.

In the end it was decided by the fledgling council that Sam Kendall was going to be the most public of figures and one who would need to be available to the people, and at the same time, safe.

Safety became an issue after some people began speaking out against Sam, some from paranoid fear of the unknown, others on religious principals, and still some simply out of a hope that, by standing apart, they would prosper. Sam's youth, and his open, honest demeanor kept the worst of those who opposed him from saying or doing much, at least openly, but as the new civilization grew and strengthened, so too did the opposition.

Sam and his family needed a safe place to live, and yet a place where people could gather in large numbers. A place was chosen, and a home was built, a great lodge of stone and massive timbers high above the river on the western edge of the Wallula Gap. A towering stone cliff across the Columbia from the old pre-Reaping town of Twin Sisters, and south of old Kennewick, what had become the new capitol of Greer. He had named the complex Echo Park, and very few outside of the families knew the significance that lay beneath it. It was both remote, and at the same time, close enough to the new seat of government to allow Sam the level of involvement he wanted, or more accurately, the level of involvement the Council wanted.

Those who remained, from the Umatilla Ordnance Depot and other places, and wished to remain in military service, formed the Portland Military Reserve, and a conscious effort was made to name leaders who would refuse to allow the PMR, as they came to be known, as a weapon in anyone's political games. Echo Park was one of the few places in Columbia to have its own detachment of soldiers. They served as guards and security for Echo Park's public areas. Carlos Arellano's crew, mostly his offspring as well as those of Dwight and Huck Scales, handled personal security within the residence and at Sam Kendall's side, as well as the individual security for his wife Greta and their family.

A few others who had shown some skill over the years joined the team, and only Carlos and Sam Kendall knew them all. They had come to be considered a bit legendary themselves, and were known as 'the Cayuse', after the Scales brother's reputed ancestors.

The two old friends sat in Sam's private study, surrounded by the souvenirs from decades of struggle and accomplishment. An old pre-Reaping map of Oregon sat between them on the small table.

"You've had plenty of time to second guess yourself, and me on this one," Sam said with a chuckle. "Do you still like the routes we've picked?" Sam asked.

"Looking at the map, I think I would have made the same choices. We need to know that the bees will be drawn to the honey though, so get someone on station in Wasco. Tell them to find a building that can be used to warehouse whatever we'll need. Station them there right away."

"Probably a good idea. We'll want to sound out the families in the area, get a good read on their religious leanings. We'll want to keep an eye out for Church of the Denied sympathizers."

"You'd think we hadn't had this conversation a dozen times already and already set the wheels in motion for things to come to a head on the road out of Wasco," Sam admitted.

"Yeah, but you feel better each time we do. Lets go, time to saddle up!"

-oOo-
Jenna Michaels waited at the edge of the slip, hoping to spot the Pride as soon as she could. Word had come by radio that the ferry had left Irrigon earlier, and should be coming into view soon. There had been a delay of some kind in Umatilla. Something had kept the Pride docked for several extra hours. Jenna was curious to find out what it had been, but the ferry had to get to Boardman first, so she exercised patience, or tried to.

The last time she'd taken a ferry it had been to ride to Greer for a wedding. She'd been accompanied by a throng of Porters, of course, but also by Taegan and Conway Kendall, returning from their first year at the PMR training center at the old University of Portland campus. They had worn their cadet uniforms and had seemed to both have grown taller, as well as both having that sharp-eyed look of men trained to kill.

Jenna felt a little flutter when she thought of Taegan Kendall's eyes, and suppressed the feeling quickly. As much as she was convinced of her own feelings, there was no way yet she wanted him to see it in her eyes.

"Any sign of it yet?" a familiar voice spoke softly behind her. She turned and saw her cousin Sam standing a few yards away, looking up river as she had been.

"Not that my eyes can see," she sighed. "What has you so eager to greet the boat?"

"Well, I could say it was just that the sooner the boat gets here the sooner we can both be on the road to where we're going..."

"But the truth of that is something you've been asked not to reveal?" Jenna asked.

"Yeah..." Sam said with a sigh of his own, "How odd that of a household full of Porters, you and I are the only two who got a note."

"What?" Jenna asked, pretending confusion.

"Oh come on Jen, I figured that if one Porter got one, more had to, so I kept an eye out. Come to think of it, you seemed a little distracted just now. A little dreamy-eyed. Just what were you thinking of when I walked up, or better yet, who?"

"Taegan," she whispered.

"I'd always thought he would be the one," Sam said with a nod. "You know, the old stories say that in some cultures in the old world, twins would have both married the same person."

"Sure!" Jenna said with a laugh, "First of all, that was usually female twins, not male, and second of all, with all the twins being born in the family, that's not likely to happen."

"I wouldn't be surprised to hear that Greg and Hailey wound up married to a set of twins," Sam offered.

"Well even for twins, I think my little brother and sister are far to close for comfort, but who am I to demand that the world shrink to fit my sensibilities?"

"As long as they practice good genetics?"

"Oh bullshit!" Jenna cursed. "Spare me from another lecture about propagating the species and good genetics. Grandma Kendall's generation got lectured on venereal disease and saving themselves for marriage. Our generation gets lectured on falling in love and have babies, and by the way, we kinda insist you do it in a genetically diverse way."

"C'mon Jen, its not that bad, is it?"

"No, but we seem to be constantly reminded that we are all future baby factories. When our health classes talk about being healthy girls, they mean healthy moms who'll have healthy children. Same with our physical training; we're reminded over and over that we need fit bodies to bear strong children. We get that crap at every turn. You don't know what its like, Sam."

"I guess I don't," the older boy admitted. "I've kissed a few girls here and there, and none of them ever complained about future expectations."

"I wouldn't expect they had, cuz," Jenna snorted. "You do know you're considered a hunk, don't you? And you're a Porter, that means you're quite the catch!"

"I think that's why I like Lily, she doesn't see me like that at all," Sam explained. "Can you see anything yet?"

"Of course not, she's more of a catch than you are. She's a Kendall after all, and she looks so much like Grandma Greta that its spooky!" Jenna turned back to the river, casting her eyes upriver again. Sure enough, she spotted the ferry, a small dimple of darkness that broke the plane of the horizon where the river drew it for her eyes. "Yes, I see it now. Won't be long, Sam."