The Times They Are A-Changing

[Anna Fernandez]

Anna adjusted her rearview mirror again as she drove down I-15, the well functioning Ford truck she had borrowed from her father eating up the miles as she made her way toward Nevada. It was a nervous fidget, and she checked the mirror again even though she knew no one was behind her. For now, at least, the highway was empty.

She forced her attention to the road ahead as Bob Dylan warbled through the five disc CD changer. Five Dylan CDs, or near enough that she couldn't tell the difference. After she'd given up on the radio due to stations fading out on her, she'd been forced to trust her father's taste in music. Two more hours of this and she wasn't sure she'd be sane. Eva, at least, seemed to enjoy it, and was testing the boundaries of Anna's stomach as she turned somersaults, or who knows what she was trying to do but...it was uncomfortable. Two more months of this? Anna rubbed her belly, pushing gently against a foot or hand with a small smile.

"And keep your eyes wide/The chance won't come again/And don't speak too soon/For the wheel's still in spin/And there's no tellin' who/That it's namin'/For the loser now/Will be later to win/For the times they are a-changin'."

Anna sipped her water, trying to ration herself to lessen the need to find a rest stop. During the so-called Sentinel Riots, Redencíon House had been knocked off it's foundation. The cost of repairs would have far outweighed the value of doing them, and she'd taken the insurance payout with the intention of buying a new house...perhaps more in the country. In the meantime she and Jamie had moved back home to Bakersfield while Jake had been forced to flee California altogether. There was a warrant out for his arrest, connections had been made to the warehouse fire that had killed several people, and he was wanted for "questioning."

Aidan was gone. Tycho was gone. Tess... she'd gone her separate way as well, with promises to come back once Anna was established. She needed time to herself, and Anna could hardly blame her. She barely understood what had happened that day, herself. Aidan had been a guardian angel of sorts, but that hadn't helped Jen.

"You know what blood looks like in a black and white video?/Shadows! Shadows!"

She shuddered and turned off the music, only the sound of the road under the tires left. "We would have stayed with Abuelo y la Abuela, but we couldn't, could we. Jamie is safe with them, but... Those people started coming around." She rubbed her stomach again, Eva settling down at the sound of her mama's voice. First the white panel van parked on the side of the road. Then Mama had been followed to the grocery store by someone. There had been a phone call, from the Brotherhood, just last night.

You are in danger, Anna. There is a bounty on your head, and hunters on the way.

Who? Why?

We don't know. Go to this address - go tonight or don't go at all.

What about mi familia?

They don't care about your family, but if you stay they will be in danger.

So, she had gone. She had woken Jamie for a sleepy good-bye that had turned quickly to tears, leaving the girl in Teresa's arms both hugging each other tightly. It wasn't forever, Anna had said then. Now, however, she wasn't sure. She didn't even know why there were people after her, or what they were going to do with her once they had her, so how could she promise she would be back?

Surely it was all a misunderstanding. She stifled a yawn, and pressed her foot on the accelerator, her eyes tracking to the rearview mirror once again.