“Gross. Why?”
“Look at the boy!” Daniel responds with a wave of his hand toward the front door Jax has just disappeared through.
“Yeah, but he’s an arrogant jerk. Why is he living with you anyway? Where’s his family?”
“I assume dead,” answers Daniel, rising from his chair to clean the dishes. There’s no running water, but he has a bucket of fresh water sitting in the useless sink. “Jax and that wolf showed up at our gates about six years ago, he couldn’t have been older than twelve. He was unharmed but covered in dried blood and refused to speak to anyone. Charlie got him cleaned up and stuck him in one of the prison cabins until we could figure out what to do with him. She sent for me and I sat with the boy for three days before he said anything, which was only his name. We knew he wasn’t from ROC since he had no barcode and we eventually assumed that he was from another compound that must have been slaughtered, leaving Jax the only survivor. It’s not uncommon up here. He’s never talked about it, never mentioned family or anything, and keeps everyone at arm’s length. I’m the only one he seems to have any attachment to, besides that wolf, of course.”
My jaw hangs open in astonishment. “That’s… that’s awful. Who would have killed an entire compound?”
The wrinkles on Daniel’s face crease further as he hesitates.
“I guess if you’re sticking around, you’ll find out sooner or later. We don’t know how many others there are up here, there’s no way to know, but we do know there are three other compounds within a sixty-mile radius of us. There’s one about twenty miles to the east living in an old school with about four hundred folks. They keep to themselves mostly, but built a good enough relationship with Charlie that we occasionally trade goods. There’s a second compound about fifty or so miles northwest, and honestly, I don’t know much about them since we rarely see them. And then there’s the League, a group of about three thousand people living in the remains of a city eight miles south. They are a serious problem.”
“Why?”
“Because they want what they want and if it’s something you have, they take it. And they aren’t generally nice about it. Charlie has managed to keep the peace between us and them, but it’s not without sacrifice from our end. They show up here every few weeks with three dozen armed members demanding supplies; food, clean water, weapons, whatever they want and don’t feel like working for. A year ago, they bothered the group north of us, who were less willing to play nice than Charlie is. Apparently, the League abducted twelve of that group’s members, including their former leader, and publicly tortured them until the rest of the group conceded. Then they killed those twelve anyway and hung their bodies outside all three local compounds, ours included, as a warning.”
Horror etches into my face and I feel sick to my stomach at the knowledge. “That’s insane. Isn’t there anything you can do?”
Daniel shakes his head and ruffles his thin grey hair. “Not unless we want to die too. Even if we get all the other three compounds together, which is unlikely, the League still outnumbers us almost three-to-one. They have more people, more weapons, and the benefit of living in a huge building that’s nearly impossible to ambush without going unnoticed. We’d never survive.
“And you think the League had something to do with Jax’s original compound?”
“It makes the most sense. There used to be another compound up here, forty or so miles north living in what used to be apartments. ‘Bout two weeks before Jax showed up, we woke to see a huge plume of smoke coming that direction. Charlie and I went with a bunch of scouts to see what had happened and if they needed help. We found the whole building burned to the ground, every man, woman and child with it. No idea what they did to piss off the League, but we made a point of not getting on their bad side after that.”
Daniel and I sit in silence for almost a full minute; he lost in his thoughts, me overwhelmed by this ghastly knowledge. A twinge of sadness for Jax pulls at me. I’ve lost enough people to understand how debilitating the sorrow becomes. It crushes down on your shoulders, suffocates you, makes you hate the world and everyone in it, and I’d only lost a handful of loved ones. I couldn’t imagine losing everyone in a single night, my entire world turned to ash and dust before my eyes and being helpless to stop it. No wonder he hasn’t developed a close relationship with anyone, not when those we dare to love can be taken so quickly without even the hint of a warning. Like my mother… and Maeva… and Rey…
“What do you call a fish with no eyes?” Daniel suddenly asks.
I stare in confusion, drawn back to reality while the ghosts of my past fade back into my memories, the only place where they are still alive. “What does an eyeless fish have to do with anything?”
“It’s a joke. To lighten the mood. So, what do you call a fish with no eyes?”
“I… don’t… know,” I respond hesitantly because I still don’t understand why he thinks this is a time for comedic entertainment.
“Fssshhh!” he exclaims and bursts into a roar of hearty laughter, smacking the table with an open palm. I blink in surprise, but his laugh is contagious and a second later I giggle as well.
“You should get cleaned up,” Daniel says after calming himself. “You look a mess. If Jax did all his chores this morning, there should be three buckets of well water upstairs so you can bathe. Be careful with those stitches. Then we’re going to figure out how you can be useful around here. Even if you’re injured, you don’t get to sit around and look pretty.”
***
There’s enough in the buckets upstairs for me to partially fill the old tub. Even though the water is only lukewarm, it still feels amazing. The intense burning sensation has left my shoulder, but the muscles are sore, the skin tender, and I have to be careful around the stitches so it takes longer to scrub the blood, sweat and dirt from my skin and rinse my hair. Once finished I finally feel human again.
A giant linen towel sits on a cracked vanity and I wrap it around my body while trying to figure out what to do with my clothes. They’re filthy, torn and probably beyond hope, but I have nothing else. Gathering them into a ball, I wander back to the room Daniel designated for me. It’s about half the size of the cabin with enough space for a single bed, dresser, chair and nothing else, but it has windows that face the woods and I can stare at the sky all I want.
Shoving open the door, I jump when I see Jax standing there. I fold the towel tighter around my body even though I’m well covered. I stare at him for a moment and can suddenly feel only pity, which I’m sure he’d hate. But he doesn’t know Daniel told me anything and he probably wouldn’t want me knowing in the first place. I have my demons, he has his. I suppose it’s one thing we have in common.
“Sorry,” he says, though I don’t think he means it. “I thought you might like some clean clothes.”
He hands me a pile of folded jeans, t-shirts and a sweater or two.
“I found a pair of boots that should fit you too. They’re a little worn, but they’ll be better than what you had before.”
I slide past him and toward the bed to set everything down. “Thanks.”
“Come find me when you’re dressed,” he instructs before leaving, swinging the door shut behind him.
I find I don’t really need the sling if I don’t use my arm too much and I’d rather not draw attention to myself anyway, so I set it on top of the dresser. I pull on the clean clothes, the fabric soft against my skin, then run a brush through my tangled waves of hair and yank on the boots. They’re about a half size too big, but they’ll work. I head down the stairs and back toward the kitchen when the sound of Jax and Daniel arguing causes me to freeze.
“I don’t care what Charlie thinks. If word gets out that she’s from ROC, the entire League will be up here to hunt her down,” Daniel hisses, trying to keep his voice low.
“And how is word going to get out? Who here is going to turn over one of our own to the League?” demands Jax.
“She’s not
one of our own. You might want her to be, I might want her to be, even Charlie might want her to be, but she’s not. Considering what ROC has done, some people here are going to be upset.”
“Hey, I offered to shoot her in the woods that night we found her and save everyone the trouble, but you said no.”
“I wasn’t going to allow some poor, defenseless girl to be murdered in cold blood. That makes us no better than ROC or the League.”
“So now here we are,” says Jax. “Charlie thinks she can be helpful and it’s not like we can just turn her out into the woods. She’s from ROC, she wouldn’t last a day up here alone. She probably can’t tell the difference between edible berries and a poisonous snake. If anyone has a problem with it, they can take it up with Charlie. I’m taking her to weapons first anyway, make sure she can defend herself just in case.”
“Weapons?” I hear Daniel chuckle. “Good luck with Ashlynn.”
There’s a long pause before Jax responds softly, and after the uncalled-for berry- snake insult, I’m shocked to hear his next words. “I think Kelsey might actually be just fine against Ashlynn.”
Realizing the conversation is almost over, I stomp extra loudly on the last two steps before crossing the living room and into the kitchen. Both men hover awkwardly around the kitchen table, regarding me with suspicion, clearly wondering if I overheard. I plaster a large smile on my face. “Now what?”
Sharing a quick glance with Daniel, Jax steps forward. “Teaching you how to use a gun.”
Strolling from the room, me at his heels, Jax exits the home and whistles for Tisis. The wolf comes sauntering from around the side of the house and falls into step with us as we head toward the large metal building near the entrance.
I’m a little frightened because I’ve never been near an animal before, certainly not a wolf, but Tisis appears calm and I don’t think she’ll attack so I reach out a hand and place it on her back near her tail, the fur coarse beneath my fingers. She twists her head around, sees me and then shifts quickly away, watching with wary yellowed eyes.
“She’s weird about people touching her,” Jax explains.
“You touch her.”
“She likes me,” is all he says and continues wandering across the compound lawn.
We pass people working on the various buildings or gardens or dealing with livestock. Younger children run around with pieces of firewood or pails of water. On occasion someone stops to stare, usually at me, though I notice most of the teenage girls take a moment to stare at Jax instead. He pays them little attention.
“How many people are here?” I ask.
“A little less than five hundred.”
“And what’s your job? Daniel said everyone has one.”
“Security,” he replies as we tromp down a small incline. Walking on the uneven ground feels strange after so many years of the flat metal flooring in the O.Z. Out here it’s bumpy and rocky, muddy in some places, hard in others, soft with the grass and crunchy where there’s gravel. I love it. I wish I could take off my boots and run around barefoot, experiencing all the new textures with my toes.
“Is that what you and Daniel were doing in the woods when you found me?”
He nods. “Everyone in security takes rotation to patrol the mile or so around the compound at night. Once you’re able to handle a gun without losing a foot, you’ll be put in the rotation too.”
“I guess that means I’ve been assigned to security detail?”
“After your stunt with the cabin roof, escaping ROC and living through a gunshot wound, yeah, you get assigned to security. Besides, you’re young and tiny which means you can move fast and hide well. That’s something we might need.”
We arrive at the heavy doors of the metal building.
“One more thing,” Jax says. “Try not to advertise who you are. Everyone knows by now, but don’t draw unnecessary attention to yourself anyway.”
I nod in understanding as he heaves open one door, tells Tisis to sit and wait, and ushers me through the entrance. A chill runs across my skin from the cooler air inside the metal walls. This is where they store all their food. Boxes and crates and piles of fruits and vegetables, grains and dried meats are stacked and sorted on metal shelving. Dozens of people are scattered about the large space checking the freshness of the food, resorting as needed and putting together packs that I assume will later be delivered to each of the homes.
But that’s not what causes my mouth to drop open. As Jax leads me to another room inside the massive building, we’re greeted with row upon row of black guns, gleaming swords, knives, daggers, bow and arrows and more weapons I can’t name. All are neatly organized and stored on pegs and shelves along the walls or resting on tables waiting to be cleaned or inspected.
“How do you have so many guns?” I gap in astonishment. “They’re illegal!”
“Shh! What did I just say about acting like a Sub? Are you stupid or something? Besides, guns are legal up here. Or well, we decided they are.”
“Really?”
“Rules are a little different on the surface,” he whispers as a girl about our age with long blond hair in a loose ponytail strolls over.
“Hi Jax,” she croons with a sweet smile, oblivious to my presence. “What can I do for you today?”
Judging by the tone of her voice, she’s clearly hoping he’ll ask for something other than a new weapon. Giving her a once over, I have to admit she’s very pretty with eyes the same color of the grass outside, and a low-cut grey tank top showing off the toned muscles along her arms, among other assets.
“Ashlynn,” Jax replies with no more emotion than when he speaks to anyone else. He could be addressing a blank wall for all the interest he gives her.
This is Ashlynn? The girl Daniel was worried about me meeting? While she’s probably stronger than me given the differences in our lifestyles, with her smooth skin, tiny nose and rosy cheeks, she looks more like a porcelain doll than someone I’d need to consider a threat.
“We’ve got a newbie,” Jax continues, tossing his head my direction. “Charlie assigned her security, so she needs a gun.”
Ashlynn turns, her green eyes scanning me from head to toe with a blank expression and I suddenly feel like I’m standing naked. Then she grins and brushes some stray hairs away from her flushed cheeks. “I heard we had a new arrival. Is it true you’re a Sub?”
“Uh, yeah, I guess. My name’s Kelsey though.” I extend a hand, but she only stares at it and after an awkward pause, I lower it back to my side, wiping my palm on my jeans as if that’s what I meant to do all along.
“Can we get her an AR-15?” Jax asks, seeming to be unaware of the strange tension between Ashlynn and me. Or, more likely, he just doesn’t give a crap.
The girl flips her gaze away from me to flash him a brilliant smile accompanied by a hopeful fluttering of eyelashes so exaggerated I almost laugh out loud and have to pretend I’m coughing instead.
“Of course.” Ashlynn saunters away, her hips swinging though Jax isn’t even looking as he inspects a row of knives on a nearby table waiting to be sharpened. He picks up one, runs his fingers across the edge and then lays it down.
“Ashlynn oversees all the weapons here.”
“And I make bullets and repair everything too,” she calls over her shoulder as if she’s the most important person in the entire compound. “So Kelsey, where are you going to be living while you’re here?”
“With Daniel,” I reply, and I swear, for a brief moment, I see her stiffen and halt in her tracks before casting a smile over her shoulder.
“Oh. That must be nice.”
“I believe the word Daniel used was ‘entertaining’.”
Jax snorts and mutters, “I’ll show him entertaining.”
Twirling back to the rack of weapons on the wall, her ponytail flying around her head, Ashlynn grabs a large metal gun and offers it to me. It’s awkward and uncomfortable in my hand.
“Some ammo and a couple knives w
ould be nice too,” Jax says to Ashlynn. She yanks several catalogs of ammo from a drawer and passes them along with two small daggers to Jax, her fingers lingering on his a little longer than necessary.
“Thanks. See you,” he says and heads for the door without so much as a second look at the girl who seems to be blatantly infatuated with him. I have to scramble to catch up, unsure of what to do with the gun and unable to grip it properly with my injured arm so it slows me down. Jax is beyond the door and just out of eyesight when Ashlynn calls out, her voice overly cheery.
“See you around, Kelsey. And be careful with that gun. I’m pretty sure you don’t want to get shot again.”
I nod and manage a pathetic wave around the butt of the gun before racing to catch up with Jax.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The Gamble (The Gamble Series Book 1) Page 11
