by Kit Tunstall
We didn’t have long to wait. Less than ten minutes after we pulled into the parking lot, that same SUV from before pulled in behind us. Another SUV pulled up alongside our second vehicle, and it was a clear message that they weren’t surrounding us, but they could.
Immediately, Ben slipped from the vehicle again, hands extended well away from his sides as he approached the vehicle behind us. Collier stepped out a moment later, hands in a similar position, and I watched through the rearview mirror as they met roughly in the middle and started talking. To my surprise, it wasn’t a very long conversation, and Ben soon returned to the vehicle, pausing just long enough to talk to Jerry before getting into the suburban. I frowned at him. “Did they turn you down already?”
He shook his head. “No, they’ve invited us back to their base.”
I wasn’t very experienced with field operations, but it was common sense to be concerned about such an invitation. If things went badly, they would likely try to kill us all to protect the location of where they were. It hovered on the tip of my tongue to suggest we forget the whole thing and go home, but I knew we needed help against Fort Glacier, and it was only a matter of time before they moved on Camp Utopia. Instead, I steeled myself for the day ahead, hoping it would be a good outcome for everyone rather than ending in an exchange of bullets and loss of life.
It was immediately obvious as we followed them onto their base that we’d made a good choice for an alliance, if they were amenable. They had taken over a National Guard armory, so they were likely to have at least similar firepower to what was available at Fort Glacier. We bypassed the main buildings, following the car in front of us, with Jerry behind us, and the last vehicle in the convoy, belonging to Collier’s group, bringing up the rear.
We drove for perhaps half a mile deeper into the complex before the lead car drove into a hanger. It was clearly meant for aircraft, but I saw no sign of planes or helicopters when we drove inside the cool, dark interior. Collier had parked, and he got out, indicating with his hand that we should park alongside his vehicle. Ben did so, and Jerry parked on my side a moment later.
The last vehicle parked beside the Land Rover, and doors opened as our group and their group spilled out. I slid across the seat, going out Ben’s door as I held onto his hand. It wasn’t very soldierly or strong of me, but I needed the connection with him at the moment. I was prepared to let go as soon as I needed to though, if it became necessary for him to draw his weapon.
Collier’s people formed a half-circle around us, their hands resting lightly on their guns. It made me nervous, but I didn’t feel overtly threatened.
Up close, I realized what a handsome man Collier was, with his dark hair, strong features, and gleaming white teeth as he grinned at me before winking. A quick glance around at his people revealed all of them had gotten more than their fair share of the beauty gene, if such a thing existed. They could have stepped off the cover of some magazine, or a poster for a forthcoming action movie, though there would be no further new movies, at least not in my lifetime.
“We’re going to enter the bunker, and I know you won’t appreciate this, but you’re going to have to surrender your weapons before you do so.”
My hand dropped my gun, and I squeezed the butt automatically. I hadn’t had much occasion to use it, and it certainly didn’t feel like an extension of my arm is I’d heard some of the others mention more than once, but the idea being without it in the circumstances sent a spike of fear through me. I was shocked when Ben carefully extracted his handgun and handed it butt-first to Collier.
He looked at me, clearly assessing my surprise, gave me a reassuring smile. “It’s okay, Sofia. They wouldn’t have invited us here if they meant to harm us. We need to show we have similar intentions. Besides, we wouldn’t let them in our home with their weapons.”
I wasn’t the only one who was reluctant, as evidenced by the slight grumbling around us, but we complied with Collier’s request and Ben’s encouragement, handing over our weapons. I felt naked without my gun, which was a silly reaction to an implement I rarely used. I knew it represented safety and strength for me, though that was simply an illusion. It took only a small glimpse of the gun slung over each of his crew’s shoulders to realize we were outgunned, even if we had the same number of people, at least at the moment.
With Collier’s escort, we walked across the cement floor of the hanger. One of his members broke away, running over to manually shut the sliding door, though it looked like a heavy job for one person. We continued on deeper into the building, and my anxiety rose the farther we went in the dim interior.
Abruptly, we entered a well-lit space, with a large cargo elevator facing us. One of Collier’s people pressed the button, and the doors opened. We boarded, and I didn’t miss that we were still boxed in with their people surrounding us. I could feel panic creeping over me, and I clung even tighter to Ben’s hand. He squeezed it reassuringly, and it helped rein in my anxiety, though it couldn’t completely banish it. I didn’t think I would relax until we were away from their base.
Collier didn’t offer a tour, and I didn’t blame him. He simply took us to a large room that had been outfitted to act as a conference room, and I assumed that had been its purpose before the HLV virus, and was clearly their meeting space now.
It was a large table, and there was enough room for all of us, with a couple of seats to spare. I ended up sitting beside Ben, with one of Collier’s people on my left. When I locked gazes with him, I gave the handsome Asian man a tentative smile. He nodded in response before looking away. At least he hadn’t scowled at me or completely ignored the tentative greeting.
After we were all seated, with Collier at the head of the table, he steepled his fingers together and leaned forward, his gaze on Ben. “You mentioned an alliance. Lay it all out for me.”
I realized he had no plans to introduce us to his people or exchange introductions, at least at the moment. It probably made it easier to shoot us if the need arose. I swallowed the lump in my throat at the thought, struggling to hide my fear as Ben succinctly summarized the situation.
“How do you envision this working?” asked Collier. “Are you wanting to move here?”
Ben shook his head. “No, not at all. I’d just like to have an alliance with you. I’d like to be able call on you for assistance if they show up at our camp, and you could do the same if you have a confrontation with them, either here in your base or elsewhere.”
Collier leaned back in his chair, clearly thinking over the matter. He was quiet and watchful for a long moment, though his gaze darted to me more than once. He exchanged glances with some of his team members, and I watched as they nodded their heads, clearly agreeing to whatever unspoken question he’d asked. Perhaps it was simply their assent in support of our agreement.
His gaze returned to Ben. “It sounds like a reasonable idea. To be blunt, we are clearly in the superior position. We have more firepower, and most of our people are military-trained. We definitely even out the odds for you against Fort Glacier, perhaps even tipping the scales.”
Ben nodded. “I’ll concede that.”
“You have something we don’t have though.” His gaze turned to me. “Women.”
I stiffened, and Ben put his arm around me, drawing me closer to him.
“Sofia isn’t a bargaining tool,” he said coldly. Ben put his hand on my stomach in a very obvious way, revealing without words exactly why I wasn’t on the table.
Collier’s eyes widened slightly, but he put up his hands in a “whoa” gesture. “I’m not trying to take your lady. I’m simply telling you what we need. We have one woman on base, and that’s it. She’s involved in a relationship already, and the rest of us are feeling lonely in the absence of women. If you can persuade some of your women to join our settlement, we’ll be happy to provide backup firepower in exchange.”
I glared at him, perhaps speaking out of turn. “We only have eight women at our settlement. Three are invol
ved in relationships,” I included myself in that tally, “One is old enough to be your grandmother, and one just gave birth to a premature baby and is recovering from a cesarean.”
He arched a brow. “That leaves three.”
Ben sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as though he had a headache forming there. “I can’t promise anything, and I’m not going to compel anyone to leave our camp to join your base, especially under the circumstances, where you’re looking for what…breeding stock or sex slaves?”
Collier frowned. “We’re looking for a female partner. It’s not the primitive situation that you’re suggesting, though she should be open to sharing, because the reality is there just aren’t enough women to go around. Have you noticed among the survivors there are far more men than women?”
I blinked as I realized he was correct. Other than at Fort Glacier, where they had a more even distribution of genders, and that was simply because they’d all holed up there and hadn’t been exposed to the virus, it was far more likely to see a male survivor than a female survivor. I wondered why that might be and tentatively guessed the HLV virus was slightly more fatal in women.
I didn’t even want to consider that it might be something more mundane and misogynistic, like women were less prepared to survive such a disaster because society had conditioned them to expect a man to rescue them. It seemed unlikely, at least in my generation, and I preferred the idea that the virus simply proved more fatal in women—though that wasn’t exactly a welcome thought either.
“I might be able to persuade one or two, but like I said, I can’t promise anything. I’m not going to force anyone to leave their home.”
Collier’s expression was difficult to read. “It seems to me you won’t have a home left for long if Fort Glacier comes after your woman, like you expect. You should emphasize that to them. They’d be doing their civic duty,” he added with a hint of mocking.
I decided I didn’t like the arrogant jerk, though I freely admitted that was simply an emotional reaction to his demands. Who traded women for protection? “If she agrees, if any of them agree, are you expecting her to set up her own brothel service? Our women need to know what they’re getting into.”
He surprised me by shaking his head. “We’d just like her to be open to the possibility of connecting with any of us. It’s been a year-and-a half for most of us since we’ve had any female companionship besides our team member. She’s been with her men since before they joined our group. We’re all surviving and existing, but it’s hard to feel like you’re truly living when you’re lonely all the time.”
I softened slightly toward him, deciding maybe he wasn’t such an arrogant prick. I nodded, falling silent to let Ben take the lead again.
We left less than an hour later, a fancy military radio now in our possession. It required some kind of assembly, and one of Collier’s people had walked Ben through it. He’d also given him the frequency to contact them, so we had a way to tell them what our women decided, and to send out a request for assistance if Fort Glacier attacked.
It was ambiguous whether they would reply or respond if none of our women agreed to move to the base to be courted by the soldiers there, but I didn’t think they would ignore our call for help. Maybe I was being hopelessly naïve, but though Collier could be an overconfident jerk, he also seemed to have genuine compassion. Or maybe I was just believing what I wanted to because it gave me a source of comfort and made the looming threat of Fort Glacier seem less frightening.
That evening, Ben called a meeting, and everyone came to the tent except for Grace, Maisie, and the children, who were staying with Beth. She was the oldest member of our camp, in her early-sixties, and the children all called her Grandma. Since she was unlikely to want to go to their base and leave Camp Utopia, and wouldn’t exactly have the qualifications the men were hoping for anyway, Ben had asked her to watch the children before the meeting.
I sat off in the corner, having a view of just about everyone present, and watched their expressions change from moment to moment as Ben laid out first the threat, and then our plan of an alliance with the other group, and finally, their shock when he told them exactly what that base wanted from us.
“That’s barbaric,” said Betsy, clinging to Joel’s hand.
Ben shrugged. “They’re not demanding anything, per se, but if anyone is willing to go, they’re asking her to be open to the idea of a relationship with one or more of their group.”
One of the men stood up, arms crossed over his chest. “He’s hardly likely to tell you the truth, Ben. He probably plans to chain up the girl and force her to see to their needs.”
I stood up, surprising even myself when I said, “I don’t think so. I got the feeling he’s telling us the truth. If it really was a matter of them just wanting a woman to use for those purposes, I doubt they would have respected the fact that their sole female was already in a relationship. They would have just forced her to do what they wanted, relationship be damned.”
Jeff glared at me, putting his arm around his daughter as he sat down again. “You sure as hell aren’t taking Lori.”
Ben curled his nose in disgust. “Jeff, Lori is sixteen. She’s not even in the consideration for this. There are only three of you who are, and I’m sure you know who you are. You’re all of age, unattached, and the decision is completely yours. If you decide you want to do this, you can speak privately to me after the meeting.”
Somehow, I was unsurprised when Natalie stood up and walked closer, not stopping until she stood near Ben. “I’ll do it.”
Ben blinked for a moment, and then his expression cleared. “You will? You know what you’re getting yourself into?”
Natalie laughed softly. “I hope I’m getting myself into a group of soldiers. I wouldn’t mind the protection, especially if it comes with certain benefits.”
Her lighthearted comment seemed to ease some of the tension, and several members of the camp laughed with varying degrees of sincerity. They were a few, like Jeff, who still continued to glare and make their disapproval of the whole idea known, but I couldn’t help wishing they’d be more pragmatic. Things were different now, and if Collier was right, that women were fewer than men in number, society would be likely to change drastically.
Triad, or more, relationships like mine and Ben’s, with Joshua, would probably become the norm rather than the abnormality. It was a strange thought, and I didn’t have the fortitude to dwell on implications for society at the moment when I was too concerned about my own immediate future. Natalie’s sacrifice, if you could call it that, insured we’d have an alliance with Collier’s group, which was something we desperately needed. I moved closer to my friend, putting an arm around her shoulders before giving her an awkward half-hug. “Thank you, Natalie,” I whispered. She was giving me and my baby a chance of a future.
She seemed remarkably unconcerned about the whole thing. “I’m doing it for all of us, but I’m also doing it for myself.” She lowered her voice before leaning closer to me. “The pickings are kind of slim around here, if you haven’t noticed.”
I laughed softly, though I figured she was just kidding. There were still several young, attractive men in our group, but Natalie hadn’t seemed interested in any of them. Maybe she’d find what she was looking for with the group at the National Guard armory.
Natalie left early the next morning, declaring she wanted to get it over with, and adding a humorous comment about bailing before she had the next latrine duty shift. Ben and a few others drove her, but I stayed behind this time. I didn’t exactly feel safe on the base, but I was feeling the first stirrings of morning sickness, and the idea of bouncing along in the Suburban as we made our way into Helena during the long drive didn’t sit well with me or my stomach.
I was certain I’d feel better if I could just throw up, but I couldn’t seem to accomplish that, so I dragged through the morning with a heavy shroud of nausea around me, wishing Ben was there. I felt safer with him near
by, but I also just wanted to curl up with his arms around me as I weathered this unpleasant sensation. It was impractical to spend the next how-many-ever weeks curled up in our bed as I survived the onslaught of nausea, so I just tried to grit my teeth and push through the discomfort.
It was early afternoon when Jerry came running to find me. I was seated in the garden, halfheartedly pulling weeds as I battled nausea and the heat when he came thundering over, moving so quickly his tennis shoes trampled one of the pumpkin vines. “Hey, be careful,” I rebuked. “That food’s not going to regrow itself.”
He ignored my admonishment as he knelt down beside me, his breathing heavy. “Grace asked me to get you.”
Panic spiraled through me as I immediately thought of Maisie and her baby. “What’s wrong? Have they had a turn for the worst?”
He panted again, slightly out of shape. “It’s not the baby or Maisie. Joshua stumbled back into camp, and he looks rough. He’s asking for you.”
Joshua looked terrible. He had fresh bruises all over the visible parts of his body, both of his eyes were black, and he had a split lip that had swollen up to twice its normal size. He’d clearly been beaten, and I stared at him in confusion for a long moment, trying to suppress the fluttering of excitement at seeing him again. I didn’t want to feel that way, and I didn’t want still feel anything for him besides anger at his lies, but sympathy made it difficult to do that. “What happened?” I was proud of the way my voice emerged sounding cool and unaffected.
“When I left here, I went back to Fort Glacier, since I had no other ideas in mind. I knew I had to get Julia out of there, but I didn’t plan to walk in voluntarily and turn myself over to them.”
I nodded, certain he was telling me the truth at least about this part. “What happened?”
“I’m a civilian.” He made the statement with a snort of disgust. “I don’t know why I thought I could sneak into a military base and get Julia out of there, along with a biohazard suit to keep her safe in the outside world. Obviously, they caught me and threw me in the brig.”
