Free Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson Page B

fighting to keep my eyes from closing.
    My shoe squashed something brown and green and soft. I shuddered and hurried my pace. I could never abide rotted fruit. It drew flies. Fruit. Fruit?
    I spun around, wide awake and hungry. Above me hung gnarled branches heavy with green speckled pears. I grabbed one and bit into it, ignoring the juice that ran down my fingers and chin. I gathered as many pears as I could carry and set off with new energy to find Grandfather. With food, we could hold out for days.
    I didn't notice when the pears grew heavy. By the time the chestnut tree was in sight, they felt like tiny anvils weighing me down. I breathed heavily and focused on moving one foot at a time. I turned around. Did I hear voices whispering? A swarm of gnats flew into my eyes. I stumbled and dropped a few pears. I looked up. The chestnut tree seemed farther away. I felt like I was sliding backwards. I wasn't walking on a dirt road, I was slipping across the frozen river. The sun wasn't made of
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    fire, it was a monstrous snowball. My teeth clattered together. What was wrong with me?
    I saw a figure stand under the tree. I tried to call Grandfather's name, but could make no sound. The wind carried a roaring sound. Why was I carrying these rocks? I stumbled. Where was Mother? Where was Eliza? The balloon. I'll be up in a minute, Mother. Just let me sleep.
    Then, blackness.
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    CHAPTER FOURTEEN
    September l2th-2Oth, 1793
    Hot, dry winds forever blowing,
    Dead men to the grave-yards going: Constant hearses, Funeral verses; Oh! what plagues-there is no knowing!
    -Philip Freneau
    Pestilence: Written During the Prevalence of a Yellow Fever, 1793
    Is she dead?" "Go away, Barney. She's not ready for you."
    "I've got to take the bodies to the pit before I'll get my soup. If she's dead, hand her over. I'm hungry."
    I opened my eyes to see who was talking. A large woman holding a candle bent over me, and a man waited in the shadows. The light from the candle burned my eyes. I heard moans on both sides of me, and the sound of hammers and saws in the distance.
    Where am I? I thought. I was so cold. Colder than
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    New Year's Day. I closed my eyes.
    "She looks dead," Barney said. His voice faded away.
    I slept and the fever fired my dreams with terror. I was back by the chestnut tree. Dust billowed. As I breathed, dirt caked my throat and settled in my lungs. The road was crowded with carriages pulled by wildeyed horses that crashed into each other as everyone fought to escape.
    "What am I supposed to do?" I cried to people rushing by. "I don't know what to do!"
    I ran across the meadow and came upon a troop of soldiers marching, with a drummer boy and flag bearer in front.
    "Look at me," I called, holding Grandfather's watch. "Tell me what to do."
    "Arretez-vousF shouted a soldier. "Arretez-vousf
    "I don't understand you," I said. "I don't speak French." I walked toward the men.
    Grandfather appeared by the flag bearer. He wore a bloody shirt. He did not recognize me, and he shouted to his troops.
    "Ready," Grandfather drew his sword from the scabbard and held it in the sky. He looked at me and narrowed his angry eyes.
    "Aim."
    The men aimed their muskets at me. Grandfather slashed the sword through the air.
    "Fire!"
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    "Noooo!"
    I jolted awake. Moonlight spilled in through the open windows. I rubbed my eyes, trying to sort out where the nightmare stopped and the waking world began. My sheets and shift were soaked through with sweat, blood, and the foul-smelling black substance that marked a victim of yellow fever.
    Yellow fever.
    There were beds on either side of me. To my left slept a young woman, her hair in two dirty braids. To my right lay a figure covered with a sheet. A corpse.
    Who was dead and who was alive? Was it Grandfather? Was it Mother?
    I reached for the sheet, but stopped. My head spun as if I were on a rope swing, twisting dizzily. I closed my eyes until the sensation faded. Taking a deep breath, I lifted the sheet at