Evergreen (Book 5): The Nuclear Frontier

by Cox, Matthew S.

  Now I know we’re all messed up in the head a bit. A bear just poked its nose into the yard and we didn’t all scramble inside and shut the door.

  “Looks like you have things under control.” Cliff smiled. “Carrie and I will be next door for a bit, trying to figure out something fun to do.”

  Harper blushed slightly. “Okay.”

  Darci whispered, “Someone’s getting lucky tonight.”

  Really? Harper’s blush deepened.

  Cliff retreated into the house, humming merrily to himself.

  “Okay, awkward.” Renee coughed. “So… umm, poorly disguised attempt to change the subject. What’s it like having chickens in your backyard?”

  20

  All the Way

  The following day, Harper brought her compound bow along on patrol.

  She had no intention to use it in a real situation yet, mostly because she still only had a bunch of practice arrows. They hadn’t worked too well on the escaped convict gang, sticking in and being more annoying than deadly. Relatively blunt tips made them about as effective as stabbing someone with a pencil. When the day came she ran out of bullets, she’d carry razor arrows instead. Hopefully, by then, she’d feel as comfortable firing a bow as she did using a shotgun.

  One of the houses on Interlocken Drive had a wooden tool shed in the backyard, well on its way to total collapse. No one lived in the house, and the shed could only be useful at this point as firewood—or a target.

  Harper leaned the Mossberg against the fence near the sidewalk, stretched out her arms to limber up, then picked an arbitrary dark spot on the facing wall of the tool shed to use as a bullseye. She’d brought eight arrows along in a nylon hip quiver. Dennis Prosser, another militia person who lived in the house directly behind theirs, came by to chat weeks ago when he saw her practicing. He apparently had been a huge fan of bow hunting as well as a history geek. According to him, the ‘Hollywood’ quiver on the back was total nonsense. ‘Real’ combat archers wore hip quivers, which made for smoother, easier drawing plus didn’t make the arrows bounce out all over the place when running.

  She’d never worn a quiver on her back. Usually, when she practiced, she’d stick the arrows in the dirt nearby. The hip quiver worked well enough, so she proceeded to get herself used to it. Every eight shots, she walked to the tool shed to recover the arrows and do it all over again. They penetrated the particleboard wall only a few inches, and—for the most part—didn’t give her much problem coming back out.

  After putting in about an hour of practice—the driveway allowed her to shoot at longer ranges than her backyard without the risk of a stray arrow hitting someone—she resumed walking her route. Silence turned her thoughts somewhat glum over the news Jeanette and the electrical team expected their cobbled-together transformer would probably last only a year, if that. Even if it survived longer, the solar panels would progressively deteriorate over time. Within two to four years, Evergreen wouldn’t have a stable, long term electricity source unless they figured out a wind-power solution that didn’t require a large, centralized transformer.

  Electrical engineering made less sense to Harper than someone shouting in a foreign language. She could only keep her metaphorical fingers crossed they got it working and trained some people so skills didn’t evaporate.

  Randall, Kip, Krystal, and the four kids with them passed their health screening—as in they didn’t have contagious diseases—and had become official residents. Harper smiled as she passed the house Anne-Marie assigned them to at the curve in Inverness Drive. The seven of them considered themselves a family already, no sense breaking them up. Harper smiled to herself, thinking about the day she and Darnell showed them to the quartermaster, then took them to the house. The kids were so thrilled to have an actual house again, they cheered and ran around like primitives who’d gone through a time machine, never seeing modern construction before.

  Tegan declared the baby in good health, proving he’d only been with the survivalists for a day or two at most. They’d brought him to Doreen Mack, who took care of a handful of other babies and toddlers. She’d formerly run a day care center prior to the war and had, perhaps, the most experience of anyone in Evergreen in taking care of extremely young children. A small group of women helped out nursing the smallest. Doreen made baby food from crushed apples, mashed-up hard boiled eggs, and even watery bread. No one could say the kids had variety of tasty food to choose from, but it kept them alive and healthy. Madison wanted to name him Chance due to the slim odds of their finding him at all, but Cliff said he’d be teased about some old Jean Claude VanDamme movie, so they decided to simply go with Oliver as a reference to Oliver Twist.

  It’s four days away from being a year since the nukes fell on our heads. Only a year. Why does it feel like a whole lifetime ago?

  Harper lay in bed, Madison beside her on the right, Lorelei on the left.

  Normally, she found it comforting to have her sisters close at night. Not only did they reassure her the way a pair of warm teddy bears might, having them right next to her made it so she didn’t have to worry about them. Also, lazy bonus: if Madison had a nightmare, Harper didn’t have to crawl out of bed in the middle of a freezing night to go comfort her. She kind of felt bad for Jonathan having his own room. Boys his age had it rough for nightmares, or at least responding to them. It seemed weird to let him sleep in the same bed as her and the girls. The kind of weird that made people give disapproving stares if they heard about it. It also didn’t feel right for him to share a bed with Cliff and even more awkward for him to crawl in bed next to Carrie. People would probably think it a little strange for Harper to continue to share the bed with her sisters when they turned into teenagers. Grace mentioned in medieval times, ‘family beds’ had been quite common. She didn’t think it strange at all for Harper to share a bed with the girls given society had reverted.

  Alas, the house had only so much room. At most, they could cram one more bed in here, which still meant two of them had to share. Maybe Cliff would build a bunk bed for Madison and Lorelei at some point to make better use of space.

  Jonathan didn’t have nightmares too often anymore, but when he did, they hit him hard. Fortunately, he handled bad dreams pretty well for an eleven-year-old. Once he realized he’d only had a dream, a few minutes of hugging Harper allowed him to sleep again in his room—unlike Madison who remained clingy for the rest of the night.

  Her nightmares had lessened in frequency. Compared to Jonathan, she had them way more often, but nowhere near as terrifying. Madison generally didn’t have one bad enough to shock her awake unless something happened to her during the day or she went to bed hungry.

  On most nights, Harper loved cuddling her two ‘teddy bears.’ Tonight, however, she tried to avoid becoming entangled—so she could slip out once they fell asleep. Lorelei wouldn’t be a problem. Once the girl passed out, it took high explosives to wake her up. Madison had never been a truly heavy sleeper, but since the nukes, the girl would wake up to a mouse farting.

  Harper figured she’d never be able to get out of bed without Madison noticing, and didn’t really want to lie to her about going to the bathroom. Granted, she didn’t feel right telling her the truth either. At least, not all of it. Madison might’ve been a month short of eleven, but she’d probably figure out pretty quick what Harper wanted to do with Logan after dark.

  Sure enough, when he appeared in the window and Harper tried to get out of bed, Madison opened her eyes.

  “Bathroom?” whispered Madison.

  “Not exactly. Gonna have a little date with Logan.”

  “Oh. Okay. How long are you gonna be out?”

  “I dunno. Maybe an hour? Maybe less. Can’t stay up too late. Got patrol in the morning.”

  Madison nodded and closed her eyes.

  They’d already planned everything out, so she knew she wouldn’t have to walk too far. Given the intended activity, Harper didn’t bother getting dressed. She plucked her handgun
and holster off the night table, stepped sockless into her hiking shoes, and went down the hall to the kitchen in the long T-shirt she used for a nightgown.

  Logan met her by the back door, took her hand, and walked with her around the house to Hilltop Drive. They hurried past Carrie’s house to the east, cutting left on a dirt driveway adjacent to her property, which led north to two smallish houses. Neither had an official occupant yet, so they planned to use the nearer, smaller one for ‘the big night.’

  Her stomach knotted up in anticipation. She dreaded and couldn’t wait in equal parts. How much different-slash-better could it be compared to all the other ‘not quite intercourse’ things they’d done over the past several months? After finally getting past her embarrassment and talking to Carrie, she expected the first time would include a bit of discomfort. Most of her dread came from not knowing if it would end up being ‘uncomfortable’ or ‘painful.’ It surprised her when Carrie said she might not even bleed at all. Speaking of ‘Carrie,’ Harper had been expecting her first time would be like throwing buckets of blood everywhere.

  All the not knowing got her hands shaking by the time they reached the empty house.

  To be on the safe side, Harper crept in first, gun ready but not pointed. She cleared the house the way Roy instructed. Tactical entry while in a ‘nightgown’ seemed ridiculous.

  “I feel so damn stupid right now,” whispered Harper. “Like I’m the sex police or something.”

  Logan snickered.

  “Seriously. I’m only wearing a T-shirt and sneakers, going room to room with a gun so we can do it in here.”

  A small, fast-moving shadow bolted toward her from the back corner of the kitchen.

  She bit back the urge to yelp, fumbling to get the gun out of the holster. Fur brushed the side of her leg. A critter, probably raccoon, zoomed into the living room. It climbed the walls in a frenzy for a few crazed seconds before discovering the front door and escaping the house.

  “Holy crap.” Logan pressed a hand to his chest. “Scared the shit out of me.”

  “Just a critter.” Harper slouched.

  Logan felt around the wall until he discovered a light switch. Surprisingly, it worked. After the flea incident with the kids, Harper didn’t feel terribly comfortable going into an untested house. Even though the place appeared to be in decent shape, an itchy tingling crept up her legs. Most likely, someone at the ‘bug house’ had dogs or something before the war and it got out of control. She crouched to examine the carpet. No sign of bugs—the itching came entirely from her imagination.

  They headed to the bedroom. After a brief inspection for mold or bugs in there turned up nothing, Harper finally allowed herself to relax. She set the gun on the floor next to the bed, kicked off her shoes, and pulled her shirt up over her head.

  Logan turned the light on in the bedroom, hurried down the hall to shut off the living room light, then returned, hastily stripping. “You’ll never believe what I found.”

  “Dare I ask?”

  He crouched to fish something out of his jeans pocket, then held up a foil packet.

  “Is that what I think it is?” Harper suppressed a nervous giggle as she lowered herself to sit on the edge of the bed.

  “Yeah. Found it in a house down the street from where I’m staying.”

  “Umm. Is it still good?”

  Logan chuckled. “It’s a piece of latex. Don’t think it goes bad.”

  He set the packet on the nightstand and sat next to her.

  “Wow. Why am I blushing at the sight of a packet?” Harper raked her hands through her hair. “I can’t even say the stupid name of it.”

  “I dunno. Something about them. Felt like I had to keep it hidden.” He chuckled and put a surprisingly warm arm around her back. “Do you still want to do this? You’re shaking.”

  “It’s a little cold.” Harper took a few calming breaths. “And the jump scare from the raccoon.”

  Sitting together holding hands soon became kissing, nervousness fading with each passing minute. She reclined on her back. As they’d done countless times before, Logan ran his hands over her body, still kissing her. She drank in his scent, his warmth, inhaling deep until she could taste his presence.

  The more he touched her, the more revved up she became. It seemed like an eternity of bliss before he stopped kissing her neck and shifted to look into her eyes.

  “Is this a good time?”

  “Yes!” whispered Harper, clawing at the bedding. She writhed in pleasure, yearning for more.

  He reached for the packet. “Sorry if this isn’t exactly a fairy tale moment… first time for me.”

  Harper clung to his back, kissing along his spine. “That makes two of us.”

  “Oh, this is weird. Never put one of these on before.”

  She bit her lip.

  “Aha. There we are.”

  Harper scooted back. He climbed up onto the bed, hovering over her. She closed her eyes, waiting for it. Logan resumed kissing her on the chest.

  “What are you doing?” she rasped.

  “Trying to make this perfect for you. Don’t want to go too fast.”

  “How do you know that if it’s your first time?”

  “I can read.” He gently raked his fingernails down her front.

  Harper shivered from the sensation. “My, what sort of books do you read, Mr. Ruiz?”

  “Interesting ones.”

  She grabbed fistfuls of bedding on either side of her body, barely able to resist screaming in pleasure at what his touch did to her. More than the physical contact, having him be so concerned to make this moment with her as perfect as possible lit a spark deep in her brain. She could no longer envision a world in which she didn’t have him in her life.

  When something made contact down below, she gasped.

  “I love you, Harper.”

  She reached up, threading her arms around his neck. “I love you so much. I can’t even say how happy I am my first time is going to be with you, Logan Ruiz.”

  “Moment of truth. You sure?”

  She felt nothing but trust and love for this boy—no man—embracing her. All the fear and anxiety this new world brought with it made living in the moment the only way to exist. If anything happened to him, she wouldn’t bother with another boy ever again. She wanted to stay with him for the rest of whatever time the world let them have.

  “Yes,” whispered Harper. “I want to do this with you.”

  Logan leaned down to kiss her.

  She held him tight… closed her eyes, and waited for the most special moment they ever shared.

  Harper cuddled against Logan, out of breath, her brain still swimming in ecstasy.

  Other than being mildly sore, she’d never experienced such world-shaking pleasure. She wanted to fall asleep in his arms right there, naked as the day she was born, without the first care who might find them. Alas, she couldn’t. Madison would freak out if she didn’t go home.

  For the first time since the war, she found herself looking forward to the day Madison outgrew wanting to share the bed. She even looked forward to living in a house just with Logan, but didn’t know if it would happen any time soon. Most likely, the two of them would end up sharing a room in a house also occupied by her family, like people did years ago. That didn’t bother her at all, as long as they had a room for privacy. Not only did it make sense from a food-preparation standpoint to have larger groups eating together, after losing her parents, she wanted to keep what family she had now as close as possible.

  Still, she had to force herself out of bed—probably grab a super quick shower—then return to her sisters.

  “You were amazing… I never imagined a man could be so gentle and caring.”

  “I never imagined a woman could be so… perfect.”

  She cuddled him, groaning in overacted annoyance. “I hate to say it, but I have to get home before Madison freaks out.”

  “Yeah. She seems like she’s doing well. How are you
right now? Feeling all right?”

  “Way more than all right.”

  “Good. Wow, I haven’t seen that much blood since the last time I played hockey.”

  Harper laughed. “Stop. I didn’t bleed at all. Didn’t even really hurt much.”

  He grinned. “Teasing. Seriously, though. You’re good?”

  “Yes. Little sore, but you were amazing and so gentle and wow… did that really just happen?”

  “That is exactly what I’ve been wondering for the past, oh… however long we’ve been in this house. Being with you is so perfect, I keep waiting to wake up.”

  Harper moaned. “Ugh. I want to sleep here with you.”

  “It’s all right. Maddie is still emotionally brittle. She’ll grow out of it soon. We’re only eighteen. We have plenty of time.”

  Yeah, until some crazy son of a bitch decides to shoot us… or we cut ourselves on a farm tool and catch a horrible disease. Harper exhaled out her nostrils. Good thoughts. Think good thoughts. “Yeah. Plenty of time.”

  21

  The Notebook

  Harper caught herself lost in her thoughts rather than paying attention to her surroundings on patrol.

  Her mind had been spinning in circles ever since she returned home last night. Lorelei hadn’t even noticed her absence, sleeping too deep. Madison, however, clung to her as if she’d been afraid never to see her again. True, the desperation might’ve come only from Harper’s imagination, but she still ended up staring at the ceiling trying to collect her feelings.

  She didn’t hate or even dislike sharing the bed with her sisters, but she also wanted to have more time with Logan. However, as much as she loved him, Madison had to come first. As long as her little sister needed her, she would be there for her. It didn’t make her feel too guilty to hope Madison might hurry up and grow out of being afraid to sleep alone. Worst case scenario, she’d go straight from wanting to sleep with Harper to finding a boyfriend and sharing a bed with him. Well, not really. Worst case would be a grown Madison still wanting to cling to Harper all night long. Didn’t seem likely, though. Her little sister had mostly recovered her former personality. Considering they’d both witnessed their parents’ deaths, had the world blown out from under them and lost everything they once considered normal and safe, the girl had made remarkable progress. Perhaps in another year or two, she’d fully deal with everything.