His tone is uncertain when he says, “Uh, Sky? Rex is right there!”.
She shrugs a shoulder and says, “Rex who?” in a saucy voice, causing him to flinch back before bolting to the side until he’s safely behind Lance.
Lance can’t keep his laughter contained and doubles over, arms wrapped around his middle. That’s all it takes to crack Skylar’s act and she lets out her own laugh.
Rex reaches out and pats Marsh on the back. “Don’t worry buddy, I’ll protect you from her.” He looks over at Skylar with a grin. “You’re so mean!”
She wipes the laughter tears away from her eyes with a nod. “Yeah, but he’s so easy to mess with!”
Lance gets a hold of himself and clears his throat. “All right, you idjits! If comedy hour is over, there’s something I wanted to talk to you guys about.” Once he has everyone’s attention he nods and goes on. “It’s almost the end of July now and we’ve all enjoyed the beautiful weather but I have a gut feeling that it will be cut short sooner than a normal summer. With the number of bombs that dropped and the length of the nuclear winter we just went through, I doubt we will see a full summer yet. So, I want us to start thinking ahead. As the TV show says, “winter is coming!” When he just gets blank stares from all of us, he shakes his head. “Nevermind - pop culture reference. Anyways, winter will be here sooner than we’d like. We’ve made a good start on our wood pile but we will need a lot more before the first snow flies. Depending on how harsh the weather is, we might not be able to get out to cut more so I want us to be prepared. Everyone will have to relocate to the atrium for the season so we only have to heat the one area but that will still be a big task. I’d like us to have other options for heating it besides just wood.”
I nod my head in agreement. “AIRIA forecasted a shorter summer so you’re right about that. As far as the generator goes, we won’t have enough gas to run it for heat. We’ve already used up half of what we brought even with the solar panels and mini windmills you guys made taking some of the load. I’m not sure what other options we have except wood burning.”
Lance looks around the circle but no one else offers any suggestions so he goes on. “I think we need to go on a scavenging run. Canmore has been picked clean and I don’t want to deal with any of the soldiers that stuck around there either so I’m thinking about going east toward Calgary. It was a long time ago but I remember there being RV dealerships on the outskirts of the city that we can look at for propane and other types of indoor, outdoor heaters.” He turns to me. “Joslin, did you guys come that way on the way to the bunker?”
I have to think about that for a minute and I glance around the yard to see if Jackson is nearby so we can get his opinion too, but he’s still inside working with Ethan. He’s been Ethan’s shadow since we got here. Jackson’s attitude has improved a lot since Skylar told him off but he still tends to stick to himself or with Ethan. He’s started apprenticing in the clinic so most of his days are now spent learning everything he can in the medical field. I focus back on Lance to tell him what I can remember of that trip. “I think I know the area you’re talking about. Was there also an amusement park near there?”
He nods his head. “Yeah, I seem to recall there was some kind of amusement park on the side of the road just past those RV dealerships.”
I chew on my lip trying to remember everything I had seen along the way when we passed that area and remember that it was only a few miles away that we started the controlled burns of the fields.
“Okay, I do remember there were some industrial buildings and RV dealerships near there. We hadn’t gone very far past that section when we started burning the fields. I remember being sad because I’ve never been to an amusement park before.”
Lance smiles at me and pats my arm. “That’s good, it means that area should still be intact and hopefully we’ll be able to find what we need there.” He turns and looks to the rest of the group. “Things have been very safe here so far but there’s no sense taking any chances with our security so I only want four of us to head out there tomorrow. Who wants to go with me?”
All of our hands go up into the air causing Lance to laugh and shake his head. “All right, Marsh, Skylar and… Joslin? Are you sure you want to head out there with us?”
I nod firmly. “Yes, I’ve done my training and can handle myself.” It will be a good experience for me to go out with them. I can’t just hide behind my tablet and stay safe here in the camp, I need to start going out into the world if I’m going to live in it.
He nods with an encouraging smile. “All right then the four of us will head out at first light tomorrow. Rex, I want you, Jackson and Ethan to make sure to do security patrols around the perimeter a few times during the day just to be on the safe side. I don’t expect any problems at this point but it’s better to always take precautions. Hopefully the four of us will find what we need and be back in time for supper.”
After that everyone heads in a different direction and I gather up my bucket of pulled weeds and gloves to put away. When I turn to head to the main building I’m surprised to see Skylar standing in my way with a strange look on her face. She opens her mouth to say something but then closes it and looks away with a conflicted expression. I start getting nervous that she doesn’t want me to come along tomorrow even though things have been really good between us since our shop-a-thon, so I try and reassure her that I’m capable.
“I really can handle myself. I had all the same training for firearms and hand-to-hand combat that the soldiers went through in the eastern bunker. I promise I won’t put you guys in danger.”
She looks back at me in confusion for a moment before shaking her head. “What? Oh, yeah, I’m not worried about that. I’m sure you’ll do just fine if we run into any trouble out there. I was just going to ask you…Uh…you know what? Never mind! It’s not important.” She gives her head a tiny shake and a smile blooms over her face. “So, do you think we should try and get Lance to let us explore that amusement park?”
I let out a peal of laughter but shake my head no. “My first response is frack yes, but reality says that it would be incredibly depressing. I think I would rather just keep a mental image of a place like that filled with happy children laughing and playing with fun music and yummy smells. Seeing it now, broken down and dirty, never to be enjoyed again would be sadder than never seeing it in the first place as it was meant to be.”
Skylar frowns and sighs sadly. “You’re probably right. That would be depressing. It really sucks that you never got to go to one, though.”
I nod but then smirk. “Yeah, but how many kids are left that can say they get to live in the apocalypse amusement park world?”
She snorts in shocked disbelief at my words so I just shrug and ask, “What? Too soon?”
Skylar throws an arm around my shoulder with a laugh as we walk toward the building. “Well, if you can’t joke about the end of the world, what can you joke about?”
Chapter Nine … Skylar
I dump my dirty breakfast plate in the wash tub and head to the door but stop and drop a kiss on Ben’s head on the way past him.
“You stay out of trouble while I’m gone, mister. Make sure you listen to Belle and Rex and do what they say, okay?”
He wrinkles his nose and sticks out his tongue at me. “I’m not a baby, Sky!”
I ruffle his hair and crouch down beside where he’s sitting. “I know you’re not, Ben. But just because things have been quiet and safe around here doesn’t mean that something can’t happen. There’s still danger out there and we never know if it will find us so do as I say and lose the attitude about it!” He looks down into his lap with a pout causing me to wish I hadn’t used such a snappy tone on him. “Come on, Ben. Don’t be like that. You know I just worry about your safety with me leaving the camp.”
He looks back up to me and nods his head but there’s a shimmer of tears in his eyes. “What about you, Sky? Are you going to be safe out there?”
&
nbsp; I pull him against me into a hug and squeeze until he starts to squirm and then let him go.
“I’ll be totally safe. I’ve got Lance, Marsh, and Joslin with me to keep an eye out and we will all be packing heat.” I pat my holstered gun with a stern look causing him to grin.
“All right, be safe, Sky. And remember…if you see any zombies, shoot’em in the head!”
I groan and glare at Marsh across the room. A not approved zombie video game had been played last night causing Ben to think they might be out there somewhere.
I roll my eyes at the kid but reassure him anyways. “Got it, in the head! Seriously, be good okay?” At his quick nod of agreement, I plant another kiss on his head. “Love you, kiddo!” And then head out to where Lance has the truck ready to go. Rex is standing there waiting so I flash him a smile while tossing my pack up onto the seat before turning to him.
“So, on your perimeter patrols today, keep an eye out for zombies. Ben’s pretty sure a horde will be by any time now to overrun us.”
He stuffs back a laugh and tries to look contrite. “I’m sorry, Sky! I should have made Marsh shut it off once I saw the boys watching. I’ll talk to them today while you’re gone and try and do damage control.”
I arch an eyebrow. “Uh-huh, sure, you do that and be prepared for the three AM nightmare wake up because I’m totally making him sleep in your and Marsh’s cabin for the next week!”
He finally lets out the laugh he can’t contain and says, “Fair enough.” Then he puts his hands on my shoulders and pulls me against him, leaning his forehead against mine. “Be safe out there, Skylar. Don’t take any chances.”
I let my eyelids drift close as his lips touch mine and enjoy the butterflies that fill my stomach and move up into my chest when he deepens the kiss.
The last month-and-a-half in the camp has been wonderful and peaceful but the best part of our time here so far has been Rex and I developing our relationship. This isn’t our first kiss and I know it won’t be our last. I try and contain the giddiness I feel every time I think of him as my boyfriend, but even though I’ve been through so much in my life since the bombs dropped, I’m still a teenage girl and he is still my first boyfriend. We pull apart slowly, still looking into each other’s eyes when Marsh strolls up to us and whistles.
“Geez, Skylar, if I had of known that was the type of goodbye you’d be giving out I would have volunteered to stay back so I could have had a smooch with you too!”
I turn my head and pin him with a look. “The only thing I’m going to be giving up to you is one to the head, you zombie loving idiot!”
His eyes go wide as he takes a step back and looks on both sides of himself for an escape route while stammering, “Yeah about that… Well, you see…Uh, did you hear that? I think my dad’s calling me. Gotta go!” Before taking off around the front of the truck to the other side.
Rex shakes his head with a laugh and yells out, “Coward!” He tilts his head back to me and plants one more soft kiss on my lips just as Joslin walks up to us with a pack on her back. “Don’t worry about things here. I’ll look after Benny and we’ll be waiting for you when you get back.”
I smile my gratitude to him and nod before pulling open the passenger side door of the truck and climbing up and sliding over to leave room for Joslin to get in. Marsh gets in the back seat from the other side and Lance climbs in and settles behind the wheel. He gives us all a look to see if we’re ready to go and at our nods, he starts the truck and pulls up to the gates where Jackson has rushed over to open them. With a last wave to Jackson he pulls through and we leave the camp for the first time in well over a month. I watch in the side mirror as the gates closed behind us and send a quick prayer up that everything at the camp will be fine while we’re gone.
I’m not expecting any trouble between the camp and the highway so I spend the short drive quizzing Lance on what exactly we’re looking for. He glances away from the road toward me briefly and then back again before answering.
“Ideally, we will be able to find indoor outdoor heaters at this place that we can use in the atrium this winter. We’re going to have to be very careful about venting anything we use so we don’t all suffocate from carbon monoxide poisoning, though. I really wish the camp had a furnace in that building that we could work on getting running on some type of fuel but it looks like they just winterized all the pipes at the end of every season and shuttered it for the winter. As much as I’d love to just find a furnace and install it in the place, I don’t have the skills to get that done even with all the tutorials that Joslin managed to bring on the hard drives. So basically we’re just going to be looking for all the propane we can get our hands on and any heaters that will run on it. Once we have those and a plan, we can start pulling ductwork from the resort to use to vent them as best we can.”
I nod my head in agreement and turn and look out the window to enjoy the sight of trees that are not dead, black, and grey. After so many years of winter where everything outside was dead, the sight of brown bark and green leaves still gives me a happy thrill.
Joslin breaks me out of my thoughts with her own idea. “This area had a lot of oil and gas pumps around, right? Even before the bombs, winters in this region could be pretty harsh so all those little workhouses around the pumps would have to have been heated somehow wouldn’t they? I saw a bunch of them out in fields on the drive through and none of them looked like they had electrical lines running to them so what would they have used to keep them heated?”
Lance tilts his head to the side in consideration before responding. “You might be right. It might be worth investigating if we can’t find what we’re looking for at the RV dealerships. It would mean a lot of driving around to find them though and we have to be very careful with how we spend the last of the gas we have.”
He starts to slow the truck down and lifts his chin to indicate we should look ahead. “We’re almost at the highway, guys, so I want everybody’s eyes peeled in every direction for signs of people around. This truck will be a huge magnet to anyone still in the area. I’m going to pull over right before we reach the entrance ramp and walk up to take a look with the binoculars. If it looks clear, we’re going to go as fast as we can to get past the exit to the growing fields. If anyone is still around, it will be there. Hopefully, no one will have a working vehicle so by the time they walk to the highway, we’ll be long past.”
Marsh leans over the back seat. “Want me to come with you, Dad?”
Lance shakes his head as he eases the truck to the side of the road just before the tree line comes to an end. “No, stay put but put the windows down. Skylar, move over behind the wheel. I want us ready to move if there’s someone nearby.”
I bite my lip in nervousness but do as he says when he jumps down. He looks up at me and gives me a confident nod. “You got this, Sky. Just like we practiced.”
I swallow down my nerves and place my hands at two and ten on the steering wheel as he dashes down the road with the binoculars in his hand and one of my father’s rifles slung over his back. I drop my eyes to the dashboard in front of me and try and remember all the steps to driving this huge cargo truck. Shortly after we had completed most of our projects at the camp, Lance had decided that everyone except the two small boys needed to learn how to drive. He, Ethan, Jackson, and Belle all had experience behind the wheel but me, Rex, Marsh, Joslin, and Sasha didn’t. The lessons that came from that resemble a reality TV show my dad and I used to watch before the bombs dropped called Canada’s Worst Driver. By the end of the first day’s lesson, I swear all of us had whiplash from all the jerky start and stops we did. After a week of practice, four of us could manage to drive both the cargo truck and my dad’s pickup smoothly to the resort and back without too much overcorrecting in the steering or pounding of the brakes. Sasha was deemed a non-driver after just two days of practice when she wouldn’t stop squealing and covering her eyes every time she got nervous behind the wheel. I think she was as relieved as
everyone else when Lance gave up on her driving lessons.
Marsh’s voice right next to my ear has me flinching. “Hey, just remember…those two dips on both sides of the road are called ditches and you don’t want to be in them!”
I almost growl at him. “Shut it - or I’ll bury you in one of those ditches!”
He chuckles and points past my head down the road. “Here he comes. It must be clear ahead cause he’s not running.”
I blow out a relieved breath and slide back to the center of the bench seat so Lance can climb back in behind the wheel. I know if I have too, I can drive this thing but I’d rather leave it to the expert until I have more experience under my belt. Lance closes his door and starts the truck with a nod to us.
“We’re good to go so far but once we get on the highway we need to be alert, especially around the exit to the growing fields.”
As soon as we leave the entrance ramp and merge on to the main highway, Lance speeds up. The one good thing the General did on the way to the bunker was to clear the road of wrecked vehicles so we don’t have to worry about running into any crashes blocking our way. As long as no one has gotten cute and blocked the road since then, that is. All of our heads are on a swivel as we scan the road ahead and to the sides for signs of life but it just as empty and barren as the last time we drove through here on the way to our first day of slave labor in the fields. The other difference is the amount of ash we had to drive through last time. We’ve had a few rainstorms come through in the last month that have washed away a lot so visibility is good - even if the landscape is still mainly a scorched and burnt wasteland in most areas along the road.
We all let out a collective sigh of relief when we speed past the exit to the fields with no sign of anyone nearby other than a few thin smoke trails in the distance. Lance relaxes his white-knuckled grip on the wheel and leans back against his seat.
Endless Winter Box Set: Books 1 - 4 Page 58
