“Relax. I know you two told him to knock it off, but your friend there just pulled a gun on me, so I’m being careful. We don’t have cops anymore, just militia. You’re not going to jail, so calm down. This is a safe place, and the three of you should stop sneaking around at night and just move in, okay? There’s no reason for you to stay out there alone.”
Madison scurried over and picked up the gun Jimmy dropped in two fingers, holding it like a turd. She hurried over to stand next to Harper.
At the sight of the ten-year-old with a flashlight, not a gun, the boys all groaned. T-Bone lost it a few seconds later, laughing and pointing at Jimmy.
Answering air horn pips came from the distance.
“What the heck are you doing here?” Harper glanced at Madison.
“You were just away on a scary scavenge trip.” Madison edged closer, leaning against her. “I have separation anxiety.”
Harper almost laughed at the matter-of-fact statement, until it made her feel too guilty.
“Cliff’s flashlight doesn’t work. I got lost trying to find you.”
Dennis Prosser and Roy Ellis jogged up Route 74. With his longish squiggly hair and already-thin frame, a couple weeks of lean rations had left Dennis looking almost like the grim reaper. Somehow, Roy still appeared muscular, though his sunken cheeks gave away that he had, in fact, also dropped some weight.
“Here,” shouted Harper.
The men jogged up the driveway.
“Aww, shit, yo,” said Jimmy. “That one looks like a real cop.”
Roy almost smiled, then put on ‘cop face.’ “What’s going on?”
Harper lowered the shotgun. “Found who’s been taking food. These three are living in some kind of camp nearby. I think they’re on their own. That one”—she gestured at Jimmy with the shotgun—“pulled a gun on me, but he’s only like twelve, so I’m willing to forget he did it if he loses the attitude.”
“Walter starting them off a bit young huh?” Dennis smiled at Madison.
She held up the little gun, still pinched between two fingers. “You should take this.”
Dennis clasped his AR under one arm and took the pistol. He popped the magazine out and looked it over. “Cripes, this thing is tiny. What is it a .32?”
“Nah. Looks like a micro-9,” said Roy. “Okay, you boys carryin’ any more hardware like that?”
“No sir,” said Darius.
“Nah.” T-Bone shook his head.
Jimmy also shook his head, but didn’t say anything.
Roy proceeded to give the boys each a brief pat-down. Satisfied, he nodded to the side. “All right. C’mon with me. You three all need a bath and a change of clothes.”
Jimmy glanced at Harper as the boys filed past her, his expression somewhere between apology and annoyance. Dennis brought up the rear.
“Hey, Dennis?” asked Harper.
“Yo?” He paused.
“This is maybe a stupid question, but since we found who’s been taking food… do I still need to sit here all night? Maddie’s up way past her bedtime.”
“And I have separation anxiety,” said Madison.
“Aww…” Dennis smiled at her. “She’s adorable. Yeah, go on home. Doesn’t seem any point to it now.”
“Sweet.” Harper took her sister’s hand. “C’mon. We’re both up past our bedtime.”
A short walk later, they slipped quietly inside the house and went to their room. Harper changed into one of her nightgowns. Madison pulled the black T-shirt off, which she’d put on over her nightie. Lorelei remained asleep, not having realized she’d had the bed to herself.
Harper hopped in bed and held the blanket up for her sister to jump in. Madison cuddled up beside her, clinging.
“Night, Harp.”
“Night, Termite.”
“Night, John-Boy,” said Cliff from his room.
“Huh?” asked Jonathan.
Cliff chuckled. “Never mind. None of you are old enough to get that.”
“Why is everyone awake?” asked Harper.
“Lori’s not,” whispered Madison.
Harper chuckled.
“Go to sleep,” said Cliff, from his room.
Grinning, Harper closed her eyes. For once, she didn’t think she’d have trouble falling asleep.
37
Sunset
After dropping the kids off at school the next morning, Harper swung by the medical center to visit Fred Mitchell.
He looked better, having regained color. The doctors still didn’t want him doing much, so he had been staying in the patient room. She filled him in on the food thief situation, which made him laugh. He mentioned that Zach had hobbled out of there on a crutch the previous night, and would likely be resigning from the militia due to his leg. Tegan and Dr. Khan both predicted he would have a permanent limp, though hadn’t been sure of the severity. In some way, she felt bad for him having an injury like that at only eighteen. But, it wasn’t as though it cost him a chance at a promising career with the NHL.
The war already did that for him.
Harper left the med center after a short visit, citing her need to get back out there. She crossed the street to meet with Walter Holman and give him her official story regarding what happened at the quartermaster’s last night.
He listened to her explanation, then grinned. “Excellent work, Harper.”
“Ehh… I didn’t really do anything but happen to be there at the right time.”
“That staying hidden and watching thing… we should’ve tried that. Like using a deer blind. Let the prey walk right up to you.”
“What’s going to happen to them? They’re just kids. Oh, I think the gun they had is the same one stolen from Katherine Bowden’s place.”
“Doctor Khan cleared them, though the oldest boy had some rash issues in a sensitive place… they hadn’t changed clothes or bathed since the bombs fell.”
“Ick.”
“The one needs a smidge of an attitude adjustment, but for the moment it looks like they’ll be staying here. Anne-Marie’s looking for volunteers to take them in. Oh…” His expression fell grim. “Bit of somber news.”
“Uh oh.”
“We lost one of Janice’s people. Kam McFadden. That weird bastard who tried to grab Mila attacked him last night when they tried to bring him food. Got Kam’s weapon away from him, but he didn’t have the keys to the cell. Hostage standoff ended with both Kam and that freaky son of a bitch dead.”
“Oh, no…” Harper sagged on her feet.
“Don’t go feeling guilty about anything here. None of that was your fault. It’s making us reconsider the policy of using the jail for prisoners.”
She cringed. “We can’t execute everyone.”
“Well, in most cases, exile should work unless we think there’s a strong reason they’ll come straight back to cause problems. But, that’s not your thing to worry about.”
“Oh, Mr. Holman, there’s one more thing.”
He tilted his head, a note of worry in his eyes about what she might say… like he suspected she might resign.
Harper walked around his desk and hugged him. “Thank you for giving Zach a .22.”
“Umm…”
“If you issued him a real weapon, he would’ve killed my friend, Renee.”
He winced. “Yeah, I heard the story. I had a feeling that boy needed an evaluation period. How are you holding up?”
“Fine.” She smiled. “Gonna head back out and keep an eye on my, umm, district or whatever unless you need me for anything else.”
He chuckled. “All set. Stay safe out there.”
“Will do.”
Harper waved and walked out.
The kids all kept giving each other weird looks over dinner, then smiling at Harper and giggling.
Somehow, everyone appeared to know she had planned to go out with Logan tonight. Then again, knowing Cliff, he’d probably heard the two of them talking last night. He pretended nothing weird went on the
whole time they ate box macaroni and cheese, which surprisingly came out okay when cooked over a wood fire. Watching the kids lick every scrap of cheese off their bowls had been surreal.
Cliff collected the dishes afterward while the kids headed to the living room to play Uno.
“Want help?” Harper leaned against the counter.
“Nah, you go and have fun.” He didn’t look up from the bowl he scrubbed, adopting a note of comic aloofness.
“Really? Wow, no like ‘dad talk’?”
“You’re seventeen, few months from the big one-eight. That’s as good as an adult nowadays. But, I will say one thing.” He glanced sideways at her. “If you decide to let him stab you, it could kill.”
She gasped and blushed. “Umm, wow. Not sugar coating anything I guess.”
Cliff grinned. “Real talk. Besides, I trust you. If I didn’t, you’d spend the night handcuffed to a chair in my office.”
“Hah!” She snickered, remembering how terrified she’d been of getting in trouble when ‘Cliff the mall security guard’ had busted her for shoplifting. She leaned against him. “Thank you for being concerned. I have no intention of doing anything even close to that with Logan… at least yet. Probably not for a while if ever.”
He leaned his head against hers rather than hugging her with wet hands. “Go have some fun. You deserve some for once.”
Her limited wardrobe didn’t allow for any sort of ‘prettying up’ beforehand, so she decided to go with the same white T-shirt and jeans she usually wore. Since she had the .45 on her belt, she left the Mossberg in the bedroom closet. It absolutely terrified her to have a weapon sitting out with three children in the house and no gun safe in sight. Her father would probably reanimate as a zombie and walk all the way to Evergreen to yell at her for that. But, they didn’t have a gun safe, and after everything they’d all been through together, she had a reasonable amount of trust that neither Madison nor Jonathan would dare go near it unless an extreme emergency happened.
Lorelei, she didn’t feel as confident about, but the girl had shown zero interest in guns and the older kids wouldn’t let her touch it. Plus, Cliff was here to watch them, and she’d be back before he had to go out on night patrol.
As she didn’t have to change, owned no perfume or makeup, and had no idea what to expect, she simply paced around the living room.
“Have fun on your da-ate!” singsonged Madison.
Harper put a hand on her gut in a futile attempt to calm her nerves. “I’ll try.”
Madison got up and ran over. “I still have separation anxiety, but you need to do something fun. It makes me sad that you don’t really smile anymore.”
“I’m sorry, Termite…” Harper hugged her.
“I’m sad, too. And scared. But, it’s okay for you to do fun stuff sometimes.” Madison squeezed her, then poked her in the side. “You’ll be back in an hour or two anyway. I can cope.” She stuck out her tongue and made a silly face.
Harper ruffled her hair and went out to sit on the front porch. Evergreen at a half-hour from dark had become peaceful and serene. Few sounds other than birds intruded on the gentle rustling of trees in a mild breeze. She’d never simply sat outside alone with her thoughts before the war, always at school, work, with her family or friends—or plugged into the internet. Still, sitting there doing nothing made her feel restless. Her life had been a speeding car, the world outside a total blur, and now she’d found herself walking.
“Mom, Dad?” she whispered. “I found Renee. She’s kinda okay. It could’ve been way worse, but she’s still freaked out. Yeah, I know what you’re going to say. She’s always been jumpy. Renee met Grace today, and I think they’re gonna click with each other. They spent the afternoon here. I’m still not sure if I should feel guilty for enjoying hanging out with them while my other friends are possibly dead or… with those bastards. Renee didn’t see any of them, so maybe they made it out. We talked about how we’re all gonna look like something out of a sci fi movie in like ten years when all our clothes fall apart and there’s nothing modern left. One of the scavenging groups found that someone nearby had a bunch of pet alpacas, so they brought them here. They might produce wool. No one knows how people way in the past made clothes. Like, we’re all so used to just going to the store, how do you get cloth after you shave a farm animal?
“Anyway, someone’s gonna have to figure it out again or we’re gonna be wearing plastic bags. Renee was always making cosplay stuff, so she can make normal clothes, but she has no clue how to make cloth from scratch. Grace is gonna become the closest thing to a doctor possible now. Not like there’s any med schools left now that the world has gone completely crazy.”
Harper looked up at the darkening sky, mesmerized for a moment at the sight of both sun and moon visible at the same time.
“I dunno if you guys can hear me or if ghosts are nonsense, but… I’m starting to think we might be sorta okay here. Miss you guys so much.”
She bowed her head, choking back tears, and sat in silence for a little while before the scuff of sneakers on pavement came from the right. Someone walking by on Hilltop didn’t interest her enough to look up—until they entered the yard and came to a stop right in front of her.
Logan, also in a white T-shirt and jeans, smiled at her, his hands in his pockets, his long, dark brown hair draped half over his face. “Hey. Hope you’re still free tonight.”
“Yeah.” She stood, taking a deep breath or four, hoping her eyes hadn’t gone too red that he noticed. “So, what’s this thing you wanted to show me?”
Cliff coughed from inside the house.
Harper blushed.
“Umm, it’s not what your dad thinks it is.” He offered a hand. “I promise.”
Laughing, she took his hand and let him lead her down the road. They walked to Route 74 and north, randomly talking about life in Evergreen. He didn’t mind working on the farm, even though it wound up being quite far from what he’d expected to do with his life. She rambled about how she couldn’t believe she’d become basically a cop, and admitted that she sometimes felt like an actress pretending to be someone she wasn’t.
They crossed the field into the southern end of the farm area, Logan apparently guiding her to a hand-built storage shed made from metal sheets and plywood. Seeing that reminded her of catching Beth and Jaden in the house, and of her father giving her ‘the talk’ the first time he’d caught her with a boy in her bedroom. She’d been fifteen, as had the boy. Her father had walked in on them kissing, chased him out, then spent the next two hours rambling about how she had to be careful because her whole future—school, job, career, and so on—would be threatened or ruined if she ‘made a mistake’ and got pregnant.
She rolled her eyes at the idea of any future she might have being ruined now. School, advanced degrees, a career… all of that had gone down the drain at a few minutes to six in the morning one day last September. Getting pregnant might not force her to drop out of school, but it could be dangerous. Some women died during childbirth even with modern medicine. In the aftermath of such a devastating nuclear war, the odds of that had to be almost medieval—or at least 1800s-ish.
Logan smiled back at her as he reached for the door. His expression had a degree of amused innocence to it that allowed her to trust him. He didn’t at all give off the sense he wanted to bring her somewhere out of sight to do anything inappropriate.
He stepped inside, pulling her in by their clasped hands.
Nothing triggered her gut about him, not like Tyler. If she forced herself to forget the state of the world—that they could be killed at any moment, something might happen to Madison, Jonathan, or Lorelei at any time—she could see herself dating Logan. However, being open to the idea of romance and ready to do more with him weren’t the same thing.
Two folding tables stood against the wall on the right, barely visible in the dark, windowless shed. Straight ahead, the darkness felt almost solid, like something big occupied most of th
e space. Faint hissing came from that direction.
“Umm. I can’t see anything.”
“Hang on.” Logan let go of her hand and stepped deeper into the murk.
She fidgeted. “Be careful. Do you even know what’s in here? Don’t step on anything sharp.”
With a soft click, a single bulb came on overhead, flooding the shed with painfully bright light.
A maze of thick pipes took up most of the back end of the room, weaving into progressively smaller pipes before going out through the right side wall as thin copper tubes. The folding tables held an assortment of pipe fittings, tools, and hose bits. Logan stood by the tables, fiddling with something.
“You wanted to show me… the irrigation system?” She gazed up. “Or a working light bulb?”
“Not exactly…”
“So…?”
He turned to face her. Music started up behind him, coming from a small speaker connected to an MP3 player. He slow-walked up to her as the first notes of Everything Has Changed by Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran filled the cabin.
Her throat tightened.
Logan raised a hand toward her. “I was hoping you might want to dance.”
She stared at him, too choked up to speak. This moment at once felt too surreal to believe and too unbelievable to process. Hearing music for the first time in months… and that song, having him stand there, arm out, expectant, hopeful look glimmering in his eyes… she had all she could do not to burst into tears.
Mutely, she accepted his hand.
He stepped in, the warmth of his body close. She rested her other hand on his shoulder and tried to remember how to slow dance. Taylor Swift’s voice filled the shed. Harper found herself agreeing… she wanted to know him better.
They danced somewhat awkwardly for a few minutes, her emotions a weird tangle of tentative love, hope, and sadness. Whenever the chorus said ‘everything has changed,’ she thought of the world burned to cinders. Logan grinned, no doubt aware of her graceless attempt to dance, but unbothered. He seemed much more practiced and guided her until she relaxed into the motion. As the song started to wind down, it hit her that ‘everything has changed’ also applied to her: the timidity she’d shed, the safety she had to provide for herself, and… how she felt about Logan.
The World That Remains (Evergreen Book 2) Page 34
