by Dawn, M. K.
“You guys are the ones who came back without any supplies.” Britney really wanted to know what happened to them.
“Town matters come first.” Archer crossed his arms on the table.
Britney didn’t bother arguing. They would get to the supply run soon enough. “A few days ago, visitors showed up at the gate.”
Axel cocked his head. “Visitors? What do you mean?”
Britney chewed on her bottom lip before answering. “They called themselves the Children of the Apocalypse. I’m not sure how many people are in their group, but they had fifteen, maybe twenty vehicles.”
“Children of the Apocalypse,” Sloan said under her breath.
“Yep.” Britney still found it a bit unbelievable. “I spoke with the leader, and let me tell you, he’s a piece of work.”
“Son of a bitch.” Archer pushed back his chair and jumped to his feet. “This is bad.”
“They asked if they could stay, but of course, I told them no.” Britney watched as Archer paced the room. “Are you okay?”
“The twins,” Sloan explained, “we found them wandering the streets of Myrefall. They told us they were picked up, held captive by, and escaped that very group.”
A wave of nausea washed over Britney. “Are you serious?”
“They branded them.” Sloan reached back and patted her own shoulder. “Here. A cross with three claw marks.”
“Jesus.” Britney’s pulse raced. “That’s the same symbol these people had embroidered on their clothes and painted on their vehicles.”
Jerry rapped his fingers on the table. “I don’t like this. What if they come back? We’re not prepared to fight!”
“Relax, Jerry,” Sloan said. “We don’t even know if they’re dangerous.”
Britney threw her arms in the air. “You just said the twins were held captive by them!”
“That’s the story they told us.” Sloan gave her an all-knowing look. “There’s no evidence to prove it actually happened.”
“You said you found them in Myrefall?” Something about the story didn’t add up.
“Yeah. Why?” Archer settled back into his chair.
“Did they say how long ago they escaped?” Britney wanted to gather more information before accusing the twins of lying.
Axel leaned into Britney. “Less than a week. What are you getting at, Brit?”
Britney rubbed at her forearm. “They didn’t come from that direction.”
“Who?” Sloan asked. “The twins?”
“No.” Britney hated the thought of mentioning the name again. “The cult, or whatever it is. They didn’t come from Myrefall.”
Axel tilted his chair and dropped his head back. “Shit. That means either the twins are lying, or that the group is sticking close to the area.”
“What about what we found in the hospital?” Sloan asked. “You don’t think they could be responsible for that, too?”
“Hospital?” This was the first time anyone had mentioned a problem there. “What happened? Were all the supplies gone? Is that why you came back with nothing?”
Axel patted Britney on the hand. “We found all the supplies we needed and left with a trailer full.”
Britney yanked her hand away. “But that trailer and those supplies didn’t make it home, now did they?”
“Maybe we should start at the beginning,” Sloan suggested.
“The beginning would be nice,” Makayla said with a hint of impatience. “Your story keeps jumping around. I’m not sure what happened first.”
“Let me fill you in.” Archer spent the next fifteen minutes telling them all they’d seen in the hospital, how they stumbled across the twins, and the hoard at the medical center.
He finished, and everyone sat there in silence.
Britney’s stomach turned, sickened by the entire situation. “Do you think the Children of the Apocalypse, the hoard of infested, the stolen SUV, and the hospital are all connected? Should we be worried about the twins’ involvement with the group?”
“Shifter seems to think so,” Sloan said.
“And you agree?” The look in Sloan’s eyes said that she did, but it was important she voiced that to the group. “I have concerns and believe we should keep a close eye on the twins until we get to know them.”
“I’ll do it,” Britney said.
Axel cocked his head. “Do what?”
“Keep an eye on the twins. They can work on the farm with the rest of the teenagers.”
“Do you think that’s safe?” Terrance asked. “I wouldn’t mind some help in the rec center.”
“Maybe we could split their time?” Britney didn’t need them for the entire day. “Would mornings or evenings be better for you?”
“Evenings,” Terrance said. “Cleaning all the equipment is a full-time job in itself. If that works for you?”
“Mornings are good for me.” That’s the time that Britney usually supervised so she’d be around to keep an eye on the twins’ behavior. “Is there anything else we need to discuss?”
“The town meeting.” Axel clasped his hands behind his head. “Don’t think they’re going to forget we promised to fill them in on what’s going on.”
“I think we should leave out what we saw at the hospital,” Sloan said. “There’s no reason to alarm everyone.”
“So, tell them the rest?” Britney worried about mass hysteria. “Even about the Children of the Apocalypse and what the twins said about them? Do you think that’s smart?”
“Maybe we should dumb it down a little,” Archer said, “for lack of a better word. Tell them we had visitors, but they left without incident. And that the SUV and supplies were stolen from town, but we don’t know by who.”
“The supplies!” Britney dropped her head to the table. How could she forget? “Dammit! What are we going to do without those? What about Rainey?” Tears clogged her throat. “How are we going to tell her?”
Sloan ran her hand along Britney’s back. “I’ll speak with Evelyn again tomorrow morning about Rainey. Though I’m not sure there is much she can do without the proper supplies besides remove the spot.”
“Thanks.” Britney forced a smile even though she had no reason to believe that Evelyn would be up to helping. She might be a world class surgeon who specialized in oncology, but she had yet to put her skills into practice, leaving all the medical stuff up to Sloan and Makayla.
“As for the supplies,” Axel said. “We’ll make do with what we have. We’ve survived on less before.”
Barely. But Britney kept that to herself. “If we have our stories in order, I’ll set the town meeting for seven? Combine it with dinner? Maybe people will be too preoccupied with their food to ask too many questions.”
Axel stood and pecked her on the top of the head. “The eternal optimist. That’s why we love you.”
“That’s me.” If anyone noticed her sarcasm, they didn’t show it.
Archer stood and stretched. “Time to get back to work.”
Britney tidied up the room as everyone filed out. She didn’t want to get caught up in any side conversations. Once alone, she pulled the curtains and closed the door. A migraine threatened to incapacitate her for the rest of the day if she didn’t find a quiet, dark room to hole up in for a little while. With everything going on these past few days, she needed to keep her senses sharp. People depended on her to keep them safe from the outside world. And that’s exactly what she intended to do.
***
Britney threw her legs out of bed before sunrise and cursed the day she decided to become a farmer. She’d never been a morning person, not even as a child. What in God’s name was she thinking choosing a profession that required her to be up before dawn?
She tip-toed into the bathroom and closed the door. Axel had worked the eight-to-one a.m. shift on the wall last night, and she didn’t want to wake him.
Running her hands along the counter, she found the matches and lit a candle near the sink. A quick splash of cold
water on her face and she felt less irritated by the early morning.
She threw on her clothes she hung on the shower rod the night before as to not wake Axel. Even though they had running water thanks to the windmill-powered pump, none of them could tolerate the icy showers that came from their spring-fed well.
Plus, it wouldn’t be fair to the others who had to bathe in the community metal troughs. Though, if she were being honest, she much preferred the baths. They used fire to warm the water, which was damn near heaven considering their current living situation.
Britney blew out the candle and left the bathroom as quietly as she could.
“Babe,” Axel croaked. “What time is it?”
“Shit,” she muttered under her breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you.”
“Not your fault I’m a light sleeper.” Axel waved her over, and she took a seat on the bed beside him.
Same could be said for everyone these days. Who could sleep soundly when the threat of monsters lingered outside the door? “Go back to sleep. You had a late night.”
Axel wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and pulled her in for a deep, toe-curling kiss.
She had half a mind to kick off her shoes and crawl back in bed. What she wouldn’t give to spend the day wrapped in his arms. Too bad life got in the way of such frivolous things. “I have to feed the animals.”
Axel moved to her jawline, kissing and sucking his way down to her collarbone. “Let the kids take care of it this morning.”
“I would,” Britney moved closer, “but the twins are starting today.”
“Oh.” Axel released her from his embrace. “You should get going, then.”
In all the time they’d been together, Axel had never given up so quickly. “You don’t trust them, do you?”
He threw his head back on the pillow. “I don’t fucking know. They haven’t given us a single reason to doubt their story, doubt their intentions, but there’s still something about them. Keep a close eye on them today, okay?”
“I will.” Britney gave him a chaste kiss on the lips, so he wouldn’t get the wrong idea. “Go back to sleep. I’ll see you at breakfast.”
Axel mumbled something that sounded like goodbye as Britney closed the bedroom door behind her.
After peeking in on the kids, Britney grabbed her jacket and headed to the barn that housed the animals. Most days, she arrived first, which gave her a few minutes all to herself—alone time was a rare thing these days.
The only thing that would make it better would be a hot cup of coffee. Which they still had, thank God, but Angie didn’t put that on to brew until seven.
As she approached the barn, she noticed the side gate cracked open a few inches. How many times had she told them to check the doors and gates after their evening chores? A hundred? More?
She continued mumbling under her breath as she entered the barn.
A small shriek escaped her lips as she slid to a stop in front of the twins. “What the hell are you two doin’ here?”
Eli glanced at Mia before responding, “Didn’t you tell us to be here early? Like, dawn early?”
“Um...” Britney swallowed hard, trying to get her breathing under control. “Yeah, something like that. I’m just surprised. In my experience, teenagers aren’t the easiest to get out of bed this early.”
“We grew up on a farm.” Mia leaned against the pigpen and petted a fat pig the kids named Wilbert. “We know the drill.”
“Oh. Well, that might come in handy.” Britney had no idea how to act around them without drawing suspicion. She knew she needed to treat them like she did everyone else, but acting had never come naturally.
In the end, she settled for small talk, which was easy enough. “How are you two feeling this morning? Did you get settled in last night? I didn’t see you at dinner.”
“Angie got us everything we needed,” Eli said, “and some perky lady found us a camper. Dinner was brought to us, so we had time to get settled.”
The way he said the last part made Britney think he wasn’t happy that they stayed in for dinner. “We try our best to be accommodatin’. New people are usually harassed relentlessly when they first arrive, which is probably why Angie thought you guys would want to eat in. We don’t get much excitement around these parts. I’m sorry you felt as if you had to stay in your camper. That’s not the case.”
Eli shrugged. “Whatever.”
“You said there are others coming this morning?” Mia had a sing-song voice that sounded as if she didn’t have a care in the world. It was weird, considering they’d been living in captivity for a while. “Other teenagers?”
“They should be here any minute now.” Britney glanced at the door. “Like I said, earlier, teenagers don’t much like the early mornings.”
“Is there anything we can do while we wait?” Mia kept to the pigpen, still petting Wilbert.
“Don’t get too attached,” Britney said, “meat is a hot commodity around here. Winters especially.”
Eli grabbed Mia’s arm and pulled her away from the pen. “Dad told her the same thing. Not that she ever listened.”
A perfect opening to ask about their past if she’d ever heard one. “Speaking of parents—”
The door swung open, cutting her off, as Juliet, Diego, and Nathaniel strolled in, laughing and cutting up.
“Mornin’,” Britney greeted them, putting a stop to their conversation. All three sets of eyes fell on the twins at the same moment. The boys seemed a bit put off while Juliet’s face flushed. “I’d like you guys to meet Eli and Mia.”
The boys introduced themselves, but Juliet seemed to have lost the ability to speak.
“And this is Juliet,” Britney introduced her.
“H...h...hi,” Juliet managed to stutter.
“Mia and Eli are goin’ to be helpin’ out here in the mornin’s. They grew up on a farm, so they should be familiar with the basics. You’ll need to help them with our routine and show them where everythin’ is. Can you guys handle that?”
“I would love to.” Juliet twirled her hair.
The corner of Eli’s mouth twitched. “Thank you.”
Juliet giggled. Nathaniel and Diego rolled their eyes. Britney could already see there were going to be some tense moments between the three boys.
“We should get started feeding the animals.” Nathaniel placed a hand on the small of Juliet’s back. “They’re already getting restless.”
“Let’s get to it!” Eli clapped his hands, his arm muscles apparent under his tight shirt. “What can I carry?”
Nathaniel clenched his jaw. Britney had never seen him so angry. “We got it, man. Maybe you should just watch today. See how things are done.”
“I get it.” Eli punched Nathaniel in the arm, in a playful manner, but Nathaniel still winced. “Big man on campus. This is your territory. We’re not here to step on your toes. If you don’t need our help...”
Nathaniel took a step back. “We don’t. We have a good system going here.”
Eli crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you, now? I’m sure you do all the heavy lifting, don’t you, slugger?”
Britney had heard enough. Even though Eli was smiling as he spoke, she didn’t like his condescending tone. Nathaniel was a great kid and didn’t deserved to be bullied.
“Okay,” Britney moved between them, “I know this is going to take some getting used to. We all have our routines, but an extra set of hands never hurt anyone.”
“Eli can help me.” Juliet’s giddiness didn’t help the situation. “I could use a pair of strong arms with the hay.”
The vein in Nathaniel’s neck pulsed. Britney looked at Diego, who’d been more quiet than usual. He stood off by himself, his eyes trained on Eli. This was going about as well as Britney feared.
“Maybe the three of you,” Britney said to Juliet, Diego, and Nathaniel, “can work out a game plan today on what chores you want to give to Eli and Mia and have it ready in a couple of day
s? I’m sure after all they’ve been through, Eli and Mia want to take a few days to rest and get accustomed to the farm.”
That would also give Britney some time to talk to all of them and find a way to make this work without one of them, probably Nathaniel, getting hurt.
“I’ll take care of that!” Juliet’s enthusiasm grated on Britney’s nerves. She couldn’t imagine how Nathaniel was feeling.
“You three, get to work,” Britney shooed them in the direction of the feed. “And don’t forget to break for breakfast at eight. I don’t want Angie yelling at me if you three don’t show up again.” Angie didn’t worry too much about the adults getting food but anyone eighteen and under, she kept a close eye out for.
Nathaniel, Juliet, and Diego hurried off toward the other end of the barn, leaving Britney alone with the twins.
“Well, that was fun,” Eli said with a hint of sarcasm Britney couldn’t ignore.
“They’ve been through a lot, like everyone else here. We watch each others’ backs. Newcomers take a bit of getting used to, but it’ll get easier.”
“What now?” Mia asked. “We’re just supposed to go back to our camper and do nothing?”
“You’re welcome to wander around, get a feel of the land.” Before Britney finished the sentence, she regretted saying it. She had promised Axel she’d keep an eye on them. Letting them have free range to the farm probably wasn’t what he had in mind.
“Could you show us around?” Eli asked.
Britney had no desire to play tour guide, but for the life of her, she couldn’t think of one good excuse why she couldn’t.
“Or I can ask Juliet,” Eli said with a smirk. “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.”
Britney pressed her lips together to keep from saying something nasty. She’d spent thirty minutes with this kid and already disliked him. Not that she liked everyone here—Jerry being a prime example—but something about this kid rubbed her the wrong way. If she hadn’t made up her mind before, this encounter would have convinced her that they needed to keep a close eye on Eli.
***
“What would you like to see first?” Britney asked as she led the twins out of the barn. “Or maybe the better question is, what did Angie already show you?”
