He gives a half-hearted shrug. “Of course, she would. You get your weakness from her. As sad as I am that your mother didn’t make it, it’s probably for the best. She wouldn’t have done well in this new world. As for Daniel, Skylar’s father, we were good friends but circumstances change and let’s not forget that those two children wouldn’t have even had this bunker if not for me. All in all, I’d say I provided enough for Daniel’s children for the last seven years. It’s better that the girl is out there with the other civilians. From what I’ve seen over the years on the video feeds, she’s extremely strong-willed and would have ended up causing us many headaches down the road. Better that she knows her place from the start.”
I fight back the furious tears I feel pressing against the back of my eyes at his casual dismissal of my mother’s death and open my mouth to say something truly ugly but the door to the quarters opens at that moment, catching my attention.
My dad turns around and sees Joslin standing in the doorway and waves her in. “Joslin, good - do you have those figures that I wanted?” He asks her.
Joslin looks between me and my father with uncertainty before her expression goes carefully blank and she steps into the room. “Sir, everything is going as scheduled. We should have the secondary barracks and buildings completed at the growing fields in two days. Dr. Craven assures me that the civilians will be ready to resume their labor at that point.”
He gives her a sharp nod. “Excellent! I want half the civilians relocated there as soon as the new buildings are complete. We’ve wasted enough time babying them and it’s time for the real work to begin.” He pushes away from the table and carries his empty plate into the kitchen and leaves it in the sink for me to clean up before spearing me with the look. “Jackson, I believe you have duties to attend to. I suggest you check your attitude and get to work.” With those encouraging words, he strides out the door that Joslin had just come in, leaving her and I alone in Skylar’s home.
I stare in anger at the empty door he’s just gone through until it slides closed, furious at him and frustrated that there’s nothing I can say or do to change the course of our future until Joslin breaks into my thoughts with her soft words.
“Jacks, are you okay?”
My eyes tear away from the door and soften when they meet hers. “Joss, you can’t stay here. You were right about him. There’s nothing that I can say or do to sway him from the path he’s on and it’s going to get uglier and uglier as time goes on. Tell me what I can do to help you? To help you prepare?”
She glances over her shoulder to make sure the door is closed before turning back to me with a frown. “If you really believe that then why aren’t you coming with me? Don’t you want to live a better life? Don’t you want to live free of his control? Come with me, Jackson and help me rebuild the right way.”
I lift my hands and scrub them hard over my face and into my hair, wanting to pull it out at the roots. “I want nothing more than to walk away and never have to see my father’s arrogant, uncaring face again but I know he would never let me go.” I drop my hands to my sides and shake my head in defeat. “Joss, please believe me when I say that I’d like nothing more than to go with you but the truth is, if I did go with you, your escape would be over before it even began. Think about it, he’s not going to put a lot of manpower behind finding a few escapees. He might even just let you go your own way, but his only son? There’s no way he’d let that stand. He wouldn’t have a choice but to come after me with everything he’s got. Not out of love or concern but to make a point to the rest of his men. He wouldn’t have a choice but to make an example out of me. He probably wouldn’t kill me but he’d make my life even more of a living hell than it is right now so just let that go and tell me what I can do to help right now.”
She opens her mouth and I can tell by the expression on her face that she’s about to start an argument for all the reasons why I should come anyways but then she surprises me when she slowly closes it and her face smooths out to a neutral expression. “We have two days. That’s all we have to get as many supplies diverted to the summer camp as we can. Once the secondary barracks are set up, he plans to move half the civilian population down there permanently and then rotate the rest every few days. The people I want to go with me need to be here for this to work. Once they’ve been moved to the fields I won’t have any way to get them out. So what I need from you is to go and get two of Skylar’s friends to come and help you load up one of the trucks with as much as you can cram into it. I’m hoping you can make three trips today and two more tomorrow to give us the most supplies possible.”
I nod my head and turn, grab my full plate and dump it in the sink. If my father wants it cleaned up he can get one of his lackeys to do it. “Consider it done,” I tell her. “But don’t you think someone’s going to notice all these supplies being moved and not showing up at the fields?”
She sends me a smile of gratitude and shakes her head at the same time. “That won’t be a problem. I’m in charge of the supply logistics. The only problem would be if someone saw you exiting the highway to go to the camp. It’s very important that you keep an eye out on the highway and make sure none of our trucks are anywhere nearby when you exit the highway to head to the summer camp. As long as no one sees you, I’ll take care of the rest on this end.” She pauses to study my face carefully before giving me a sad frown. “I just want you to know that I want you with us. I know you feel you need to stay because he’s the only family you have left but Jackson, sometimes family isn’t in the blood. Sometimes family is in the heart and I consider you my family.”
I step towards her, pull her into my arms and hug her tight. She’s right, she is my family and I know that I probably wouldn’t have been able to make it through the last four years without her by my side supporting me. I might not be able to go with her but I’m going to do everything in my power to give her the head start that she needs to survive.
Chapter Twelve … Rex
I sit on the side of my cot and take stock of my body and its various aches. I’m a little stiff and sore but nothing that won’t loosen up once I start moving. I scratch at one of the hardened calluses on my palms and I’m thankful for all the wood chopping I had done over the years to harden my hands. All in all, after yesterday’s brutal forced labor in the field I’m in not too bad shape.
I glance over at Skylar, who’s sleeping peacefully with her bandaged hands tucked under her cheek and wince. She and Sasha are suffering the most out of all of us and I can only hope that when they decide to send us back to the fields they ease off a little bit. Better yet, we will find a way to get out of here before that even happens. Matty’s giggle has me looking over to the side of the tent where he and Ben are sitting with Belle playing some kind of game. She looks up, catches my eyes and sends me a reassuring smile. Once again, I’m thankful for this woman who stepped into the role as Ben’s mother.
Marsh comes over and settles on the cot beside me, offering up the crackers and cheese spread out of his morning ration but I shake my head. After the past few days of nothing but old MRE’s, I’m ready to go back to eating the sprouts that had been one of our staple ingredients for so many years before moving into the bunker.
“So what do you want to do today, dude?”
I arch an eyebrow at him instead of responding when he leans back on his hands while looking around the crowded tent and shaking his head with a grin.
“Nothing? Well, I have a very busy schedule today! I have a nap scheduled in about twenty minutes and then there’s lunch rations if they show up. Then after that, a very important second nap of the day.” When I just shake my head at his sarcasm he groans. “I’m so bored! Not that I want to go back and dig in the dirt more but there’s got to be something we could be doing to move our plan ahead, don’t you think?”
I sigh with my own sense of frustration. “I wish. I’m so ready to get out of this place. All we can really do though is wait and see what that Joslin
girl has planned. Skylar says she’s got something in the works to get us out of here so all we can do is just sit around and wait until we get the signal to go.”
Marsh nods in agreement but it’s clear he’s not happy with it and pushes to his feet. “Well then, maybe I’ll move that first nap up to now instead of twenty minutes from now.”
He’s about to walk away when the flaps at the front of the tent open and we both turned to look and see the General’s son, Jackson, step into the tent. He looks from cot to cot with uncertainty until he spots me and Marsh and then heads our way.
When he reaches us he glances down and catches sight of Skylar. His uncertain expression turns to one of pity. I don’t like how he’s looking at her considering it was his father that put her in this state so I snap my fingers to get his attention and ask, “Can I help you with something, man?”
He pulls his gaze away from Sky and looks back and forth between Marsh and I like he’s considering something and then finally asks, “Uhh, how are you two feeling? I mean, after yesterday? Are you feeling okay?”
I know this is the man in charge’s kid but his whole demeanor is nothing like his father’s. He actually seems like he’s not a bad guy so I keep my tone neutral to see what he’s doing here.
“We’re okay, better than the girls anyway. Just a little stiff and sore but nothing that moving around a little bit won’t cure.”
He nods his head. “Good, good, that’s great. Um…do you think you would both be up to giving me a hand with a special project today?”
When we just stare at him blankly he glances around like he doesn’t want anyone to overhear him.
“Um, it’s for Joslin? She said you would be interested in giving me a hand with it?” He stammers out.
This perks both Marsh and I right up. If Joslin sent him that means it has to do with our escape and we’re on board with anything he needs our help with. We both eagerly nod our heads.
A look of relief flashes across his face. “Okay, um, then we should go and get started.”
Marsh looks deeper into the tent until he sees his dad Lance, then points at himself and me before nodding his head in Jackson’s direction. Lance looks the kid up and down before slowly nodding his head at Marsh to let him know he got the message. Belle must have been watching us because when I turn her way she gives a small wave and nod towards the boys to tell me she’s got them.
We follow Jackson out of the tent and I’m surprised when he turns away from the main barracks doors and heads towards the smaller door in the rock wall that leads to Skylar’s old home. He flips up the keypad cover punches in a code and then waves us to follow him into the airlock.
We’re both standing behind him when he doesn’t move to the next door but instead stops and addresses one of the speakers in the corner. “AIRIA, is there anyone in the living quarters right now?”
“Jackson Mallor, there is currently no one occupying the living quarters.”
I see him chew on his lip while considering the reply before addressing AIRIA once again.
“Is there anyone in the cavern behind the living quarters or in the connecting tunnel to the barracks?”
“Jackson Mallor, both areas are currently empty of personnel.”
I see the tension flow out of his shoulders as he palms open the door into Skylar’s home and realize that whatever we’re about to do, he doesn’t want anyone to see. We follow him through the quarters and into the cavern where he keeps walking straight to the back garage area where Skylar’s dad’s truck used to be. Instead, there’s a large cargo truck waiting there. He finally turns to us and pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket and holds it out to me.
“Uh, so Joslin has a list of things that she wants us to load on this truck. I don’t know where a lot of it is but I’m sure AIRIA can tell us. Joslin says that everything on the list is on this side of the bunker so hopefully we won’t have to worry about anyone else coming along and asking what we’re doing.”
I give the list he’s handed me a quick scan before looking up at him and asking, “And what is it exactly that we’re doing with it?”
He turns away from us like he doesn’t want to answer the question and just shrugs one shoulder. “What we’re doing is loading the truck with what’s on the list. Let’s start with that and we’ll see how it goes from there.”
Marsh and I exchange glances behind his back but this is the only game in town for us so we go along with what the guy wants and hopefully we’ll get more answers as we go.
Thankfully, the truck has a retractable ramp to make things easier for loading because the first thing we have to put on it is two of Skylar’s ATVs. Once those are on and secured in place with straps we start filling Jerry cans with gas from the internal pump on one side of the garage area. The list says twenty cans of fuel so I leave Marsh to start filling them up and head with Jackson to where the shipping crates are for the next items on the list. I’m happy we find a couple of dollies for us to use or we would have been hauling a lot of weight. Cases of MRE’s, boxes filled with dried goods and foodstuffs are moved to the garage area and then loaded onto the truck. Hand-held farm equipment, gardening supplies as well as boxes of seeds and animal feed are checked off the list. It takes us just under two hours for the three of us to load the truck right to the brim with supplies. When Jackson pulls the overhead door down on the back of the truck and secures it, he turns and gives us a nervous look.
“Okay, so now we have to drive this stuff and then unload it at the other end.”
Marsh looks at me and then turns back to Jackson. “Again, where exactly are we taking this stuff?”
Jackson looks nervously around like he’s expecting someone to jump out at us any minute.
“Um, we’re setting up a secondary site beside the fields you guys planted and all this stuff needs to go there.”
Any charitable thoughts I had for the guy flee at those words. This had nothing to do with our escape. He just needed some labor to move more supplies for his people. Marsh and I exchange scowls before following Jackson around and climbing into the rear cab of the truck. I’m thinking maybe we can overpower the kid on the road and hold him hostage or something. See if we can make a deal to get the General to let our people go but I dismiss that idea when I see him move an assault rifle over between himself and the driver’s door.
He hits a remote that is clipped to the visor, sending the overhead door in front of the truck up and the garage fills with early morning sunlight. Even though it’s been a few days now that I’ve been out in the sun, it still gives me a thrill after so many years of clouds blanketing the sky.
We bump along the track that runs around the back and then beside the mountain wall the bunker is built into until we reach the front, where two soldiers stand blocking the way.
I can practically feel the tension rolling off Jackson and I can see a slight shaking of his hand when he reaches for the knob to roll down the window, making me wonder what’s up with this guy. One of the guards takes a step closer to the truck and peers through the windshield. When his expression shows recognition of Jackson he steps back, says something to his partner and they wave us through. As soon as we’ve made it out of the cleared camp area Jackson blows out a huge breath like he’s relieved and slumps back into his seat. He turns to us with a slight grin on his face.
“So, I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you before but I don’t trust the computer in the bunker. Who knows if my father has it monitoring everything I say. We haven’t exactly been agreeing on most things lately so he could be keeping closer tabs on me.” When Marsh and I just nod cautiously at him he continues. “Joslin found a place she wants you all to relocate to and these supplies are headed there. I know you guys don’t have any reason to trust me but I’m taking a huge risk in helping all of you because of her. She doesn’t deserve this life and I’m willing to go against my father to make sure she gets out of here.”
A huge weight lifts off my shoulders at his words
. I have about a thousand questions for him on how she’s going to accomplish freeing us while under AIRIA’s watchful eye, not to mention all the guards with guns. When I start to let loose with my question, he holds up a hand from the steering wheel in a stop gesture.
“All I can say is, I don’t know. She hasn’t shared what her plans are with me other than leaving here and taking you guys with her and it’s probably better if I don’t know how she plans to accomplish it. Trust me when I tell you, that girl is the smartest person I know.” When we don’t look very convinced, he says, “Really! She hid from my father for the first three years after the bombs dropped…in a bunker! Not only that, she managed to finish high school by age thirteen. In a bunker full of adult soldiers, she somehow managed to make herself indispensable to my dad, so trust me. If anyone can escape my father, it’s her.”
Marsh leans forward between the seats. “Dude, if you care so much for the girl why aren’t you coming with us? I get that the big man is your dad but he seems like quite the hard-ass.”
Jackson is silent for a few minutes as he concentrates on the road ahead of us and when he finally speaks it’s in a quiet tone.
“He is a hard-ass and honestly sometimes I think he might even be evil. I can’t come with you for two reasons. First, as much as I hate him sometimes, he’s the only family I have left. And second, you guys have a better shot of him leaving you alone without me. There’s no way he would let his only son run away. Not so much because he loves me because I’m not really sure that he does, but because it would make him look bad in front of his men.”
Marsh leans back with a whispered, “Harsh!”
Endless Winter Box Set: Books 1 - 4 Page 48
