Azami scraped her fork against her plate, finishing her food. She worked up an appetite today, walking around in the forest. She finishes her water a moment later and sets the cup on top of her plate.
“Are you still hungry, princess?” I ask her.
“No.” She pats her stomach, signaling she’s full.
“Go put your plate in the sink, please.”
“Tay!” she yells, bouncing over to the sink. The soapy water is ready for the dishes, keeping her busy with the bubbles.
I turn to Lillie. “What’s her surprise?” I ask with excitement, as if her surprise is meant for me.
Lillie laughs. “Maybe I should keep it a secret. I can surprise you too!”
I glare at her. “I’m the adult. I get to know too.” I’m practically whining at this point.
Our conversation catches the table’s attention. “Since the guys are leaving soon for about a week, I thought we could have a B-I-R-T-H-D-A-Y P-A-R-T-Y for someone early.”
Slow to understand, you can literally see everyone at the table spelling birthday party in their heads. “That’s a great idea!” I tell her.
“Yeah, I have all the ingredients I need for her cake. This is the first year I can make her one. I’m so excited!” Lillie reminds me of Azami as she bounces in her seat, clapping softly.
“Momma!” Azami comes running over and climbs in her mother’s lap, touching her cheek with her palm. Another scowl crosses her face. Lillie’s learned a technique to block her.
Lillie chuckles as she takes Azami’s hand from her cheek and kisses it. “I told you it’s a surprise. No cheating.”
Azami looks down, but a smile is tugging at her lips. This child is getting smarter by the day. An idea sparks. During this raid, they plan to check more houses for nonperishables, clothes, and blankets. Azami should begin to read, write, sing her ABC’s and count her numbers very soon. It’s never too early to start. I’ll have them look for children’s books while they’re out. She’d love something with pictures to look at.
The rest of the crowd moves in slowly as they finish up their day of building the fence. We get up from the table to give others a place to sit. Moving over to the sink, we start our dishes, as Azami continues to play in the bubbles.
Dane brings his dishes over, and I offer to clean them for him. He smiles, patting my shoulder, then removes himself quietly from the kitchen with a wave. Smiling faces surround us, and laughing voices soar through the room. The newcomers are fitting in perfectly with the crowd, seeming like long lost family.
The slow sense of dread creeps back into the pit of my stomach, churning its negativity. The thing about having everything you’ve ever wanted, is that it can easily be taken away.
Chapter 12
Lillie
I woke up early the next morning to make Azami’s cake. Thanks to our foraging through stores, we have dozens of bags of flour, sugar, and most of the ingredients for baking. We’d have to make do without frosting, but the cake was still a great treat.
I’ve never in my life made a cake from scratch, so Sarah wrote down a recipe that I can follow. Halfway through mixing my ingredients, I hear the shuffling of feet heading my way. I expect Ian, but Mason smiles at me as he enters the kitchen.
“Hey.” He’s excited.
“Hey, Mase! What’re you doing up?” I mix the last of the flour into the cake and stir.
“James said you were getting up early to make Az a cake. I wanted to bring you a present to.”
Perplexed, I turn, giving him my full attention, curious about what he’s brought. “What is it?” I have to admit, I love surprises. Growing up, they were few and far between.
His hand is behind his back. “Make a wish.” He pulls out a thinly carved piece of wood. I come closer to get a better look.
“Mase,” I whisper. In his hand, he’s holding a hand carved candle, complete with a wooden tipped flame. “It’s perfect!” I snag the candle from him and hug him tightly. I pull back to look at it again. The wood is so soft and smooth. I coan’t stop rubbing my finger across its surface.
“You’re welcome,” he laughs. “I know we don’t have any candles, so I figure we can use this one every year and pretend. Az is good at that anyway.”
“This is so great!” I walk back to the cake. “Will you put the cake in the oven, please?” I place the candle on the counter and watch as Mason puts the cake in the oven. The hot water tunnel that passes directly behind these walls at scorching degrees helps warm the rock, making for the perfect oven. Of course, it takes longer to cook than your general oven, but it works for us. “Are you nervous about going out again?”
He turns to me, watching my reaction. “No. What we’ve dealt with has helped me prepare. We’ll take good care of him, Lil. Don’t worry.”
Huffing out a laugh, I reply, “Yeah, right. That’s like asking me not to breathe.”
Mason laughs too. “I guess you’re right. He knows what he’s doing, though. You of all people know that.”
He’s reminding me, reassuring me, that James knows what to do. Deep down, I know he’s right. James lived for years by himself before I found him, his sight helping to keep him safe. He’d also keep Mason and Luke safe. It’s stupid not to start taking him.
“I know.” I smile, sadly. “I’m scared is all.”
Mason steps into me, wrapping me in his arms. “Nothing will happen to him. Luke and I will make damn sure of that.”
“Thanks, Mase.”
Doing me a favor, he changes the subject. “What else do you have planned for the big day?”
My smile is quick to recover. “I thought we could do what she wants. Have a drawing contest in the dirt and have her judge them. Silly things.”
“She’ll like that,” Mason agrees.
Her cake finishes before she wakes up. Mason left to begin his shift, building the wall. He’d only pull a half-day, since he would be packing the rest of the evening. Quinn is giving the wagon a tune-up after they struck all the infected on the road. He cleaned out the engine yesterday, but wanted to take a few thing out and clean them again before they left for the long journey. He and Deagon both offered to join the three others on their raid, but Ian decided it’s smarter to keep our numbers at the cave, where it’s easier for the infected to gain entrance. Plus, we require more hands on the fence, the weakest spot in our home. We contemplated blocking the tunnel off from the outside completely, but that would require the same amount of work because of the way this entrance is shaped.
By the time Ian and Azami come to find me, I almost have everything set for her big day. My three-year-old baby. Her actual birthday isn’t for another three days, but I wanted to make sure her entire family was here for the event. Our journey started out with just the two of us, and now, years later, we have more family than ever.
“Mmm…it smells dood in here, Momma.” Azami runs over and grabs my hand, smiling up at me.
“It’s part of your surprise, Angel!” I think I’m more excited than Azami. I never dreamed we’d celebrate a normal birthday for her. I sent Mason out with verbal invitation to meet in the kitchen at lunchtime for cake and festivities.
She squeals and jumps around the rest of the afternoon, trying to get me to tell her what the surprise is, or touching me when she thinks I’m not paying attention. Each time she comes up with nothing. I thought about making bread when she touched my cheeks, always effectively blocking her out of my real thoughts. I wasn’t sure if it would work at first, but so far, she hasn’t picked anything up.
The morning moves quickly. We water and examine the current crops, making sure each one receives the care it needs before moving to the next. Ian walks along one side, meeting me and Azami in the middle of each garden. By the time we finish the third garden, lunch had arrived.
“Are you finally ready for your surprise, Az?”
Her eyes light up. “Yes!”
James comes walking out of the kitchen’s tunnel, approaching us. “Al
l set.” He lets me know, smiling. “Come here, turd.” He swoops her up onto his shoulders as we make our way back to the kitchen.
I can hear Sarah and Jen hushing everyone, telling them we’re coming. As we enter the kitchen, they erupt into the Happy Birthday song. Most people sing completely off key, overly loud and obnoxious. Baby Gage laughs and claps his hands along with the rest of the crowd.
Azami smiles excitedly, not understanding that this is all for her. “Happy Birthday, Angel!”
“It’s my birfday!” she screams excitedly.
After we calm Azami down, we ask what she wants first, cake or games? James whispers in her ear, “Do cake first.”
Sarah brings out the finished cake. I cut Azami the first piece, watching her little face when she takes her first bite of chocolate. Her reaction was priceless. She closes her eyes in surrender, obviously the best thing she’s ever eaten.
My heart slices open when she bounces over to me from the table, offering me her last bite. “Momma, you twy dis too!”
“That’s okay, Angel. Momma is gonna have a small piece, too. But first, I’m going to make sure everyone else gets one. You wanna help?”
She pops the last piece of cake into her mouth, nodding.
I cut up pieces of cake, while Azami goes from person to person, handing them out, but she makes sure that James gets the first piece. I wonder if he requested it?
She confirms my suspicions when she says, “Untle Dames, you wood have got da first one anyway.”
“Thanks, munchkin.” He ruffles her hair as she turns back to me. He looks up and catches my knowing smile.
Azami soon finishes handing out the cake, leaving one little piece so she can have another. She takes it and goes to sit next to James, only to share it with him.
After cake, we move to the gardening cavern for a fun game of drawing, like Pictionary. Azami’s new to this game, and I don’t know why we haven’t thought of it until now. Azami draws first, and whoever guesses first will go next.
She begins drawing with her stick, her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth, concentrating. Two tall lines with a swirling, circle top. I tilt my head, studying her picture, the answer on the tip of my tongue, when James shouts out the answer.
“It’s our tree!”
Azami throws the stick down and claps. “Yaaay, Untle Dames! You’re next!”
She runs over to me, hanging onto my hand as James picks up her stick to draw his own picture.
“Dis is weewy fun, Momma. Tank you.”
She melts me. “You are so very welcome, Angel.” I’d never change these moments, not even to have our old world back.
Once the festivities start to die down, Azami comes down from her sugar high, and is ready for a nap. Ian volunteers to tuck her in, while I help James pack his things for the raid. My heart flutters in my chest the entire time, making me want to puke.
We remain silent, until James touched my arm lightly. “Lil, I’ll be okay. You have to know that.”
“That’s never a guarantee.” I turn to meet his eyes, which reflect the sadness I’m feeling. He doesn’t want to upset me, but I can’t help being a bit of a crybaby. I pull him into a hug. “Never think I don’t believe in you. It’s the outside factors that bother me. We can’t always control the outcome in situations. That’s what I don’t trust.” I smile widely at him, trying to lighten the mood. “You know how I get.”
He messes my hair. “Don’t I know it!”
We finish packing his stuff and check in with Mason and Luke. They’re both finishing their packs as well, bouncing their checklists against the other’s. We discuss some of their plans on travel. I won’t be there with them, but I can at least map out their route in my head. With the infected returning, their intelligence growing, the outside factors are largely unknown. Three people who are highly important to me are leaving the safety of our home, which is driving me absolutely crazy with worry.
“You doing all right?” Mason slings an arm around my shoulders.
Our dynamic having changed in the last few days, puts us at ease. I can’t expect Mason to forget the emotions that built up between us, but he’s still a great friend. “Yeah.” I laugh under my breath. “Am I that obvious?”
He squeezes my shoulder. “Don’t worry about it. You get a pass.”
Ian walks into the room, slapping James and Luke on the shoulders. “You guys packed?”
“Set and ready,” James confirms, moving to drop his pack next to the others on the floor.
Mason squeezes me again before letting me move toward Ian. “Azami still sleeping?”
“Out like a light,” he laughs.
“Dane wanted to run through the route one more time with the three of you,” Ian says, relaying Dane’s message.
Luke nods. “I figured. He’s on the edge of his seat with this raid. We’ve gone out twice as many times on searches as we normally do, and we have more mouths to feed, but he’s going overboard on triple checking everything.” Luke, like the rest of us, is concerned about Dane’s recent behavior.
Mason agrees. “I’ve noticed it too. Ian, while we’re gone, maybe you should take over some of his day-to-day jobs. I’ve also noticed he and Rosie are not on the best speaking terms. Maybe that’s compounding his obsession with the winter supply runs.”
Nodding, I remember the other night. “We ate dinner with them the other night, and got the impression that we’d interrupted a fight.”
“I’ll talk with him. Now’s not the time to have distractions. This last run is important, giving us enough supplies to last the rest of winter. Plus, we have five new mouths to feed. Make sure you guys are paying attention, and don’t take more risk than necessary. We want you all returning in one piece.” Ian smiles over at James, letting him know his last statement is meant for him.
“Yes, sir.” He salutes his brother with a laugh. It’s good to see them coming together.
The afternoon passes into evening. Azami woke up from a long nap, refreshed and raring to go again. The gardening was finished during the morning hours, so the evening is concentrated on the fencing in the pool area. The entire structure is progressing well. One corner of the fence is proving more difficult to contain, though. The bottom corner, up against the rock where the first limbs meet are misshapen, making it almost impossible to secure. We used one of the largest boulders we could find as a blocker. It took five of the guys to move it into its place. With the rock being that heavy, it should work fine as part of the protection in the fence.
After washing up and eating a hearty meal of Elk, half our group retires for the night, while the rest of us gather in the main cavern to listen to Dane run through the final plans. Michael and Jen sit next to Sarah and Deagon, while Quinn takes up next to Mason and Luke, leaving James, Ian, and myself standing next to Dane.
We stand around in a large circle, the route the team will travel drawn in the dirt. “This should be cut and dry. Since the infected are doubling in numbers, I don’t want to take any chances. Luke and Mason, you two will carry the guns. James, Ian said you could take Slugger with you.”
James nods, agreeing as Ian sticks his bat into his pack.
“Good. Hopefully, you won’t have to use it. I want you to make your first stop here.” He points to a small town, only twenty miles from us. “We’ve stopped in most of the larger towns. Now we need to concentrate on the houses in these smaller areas. If you can get into a store without trouble, do it. Check for the medications and any clothing or food that’s left behind. Check the houses for the same things. Since you three are the only ones going, you should have plenty of room to pack the wagon. Make sure to use the roof if you must.” He looks to each of them, making sure they’re paying attention. “After you finish there, move here.” He continues to show us the small towns he’s mapped out. These are towns they’ve never raided, but they kept them away from the pack of infected during their last incursion.
When we retire for the night, Azami’s
already passed out in Ian’s arms. He lays her down, covering her with her blanket. He pulls me close once we we’re comfortable, whispering reassuring words to comfort me.
It worked, until I fell asleep…
Chapter 13
Ian
Lillie thrashes around, kicking me, panic evident in her harsh breaths. I place her flat on her back, tucking her hair behind her ear, struggling to wake her from her nightmare. Her fear weighs the room down, suffocating me.
“Lil!” I say loudly, shaking her shoulders.
She finally startles awake, eyes wide in terror. “Wha…” She looks around, realizing she’s in bed.
“What’s going on? What’re you dreaming about?” I ask, petting her hair, attempting to calm her.
Her eyebrows pinch together in confusion. Her breathing is still heavy when she answers. “I’m not sure. I can’t see who it is. They’re being drug over grass, dirt, gravel…catching and tearing their skin on the rocks.” she sniffles. “It hurt.”
I pull her to me, setting her on my lap, enjoying her weight and warmth against me. She reaches up and wraps her arms around my neck, hiding her face against me, attempting to erase the disturbing images. We stay that way for a while, until she slowly drifts back to sleep. I lay back down, leaving her resting against my chest. Her body is the best blanket I could have. Nothing compares to the feel of her skin.
The next time I open my eyes, James is leaning over us. “Ian. Lil. We’re getting ready to leave.”
Lillie stirs and slips off my chest, her movements slow. The dream really took it out of her. James looks at me, concerned.
“She had a nightmare. Someone being drug away.”
James understands my explanation. She may have predicted an attack. “I’ll let Luke and Mason know. We’ll be prepared.”
“James?” Lillie asks.
“Hey,” he replies. “Why don’t you stay in bed? Ian said you had a nightmare?”
“Yeah.” She glances down, thinking. “I don’t think it was one of you. This one was different, personal. I’m not sure if the figure being torn across the ground was me, or me living through the person in my dream. They’re so vivid.” She shivers.
Flash Series (Book 2): Immune Page 9
