The Life After War Collection

by Angela White

  Jeremy was huddled on the middle ledge of the gate, staring west. He was wrapped in a thick parka and still shivering lightly.

  “Things okay?” she asked, climbing up and then shoving her hands into her pockets.

  “Fine,” Jeremy answered. “For the sheep.”

  Angela carefully sat down next to him, a bit surprised not to find the ever-present laptop in his hands. “What’s eating at you and how can I help?”

  Jeremy gave her a pitiful look. “I can’t live down there. I can’t even go inside.”

  Angela tried to remember if she’d seen him today, but couldn’t. “Where have you been?”

  “I volunteered to supervise the bathrooms up here while everyone moved,” Jeremy confessed ashamedly. “I can’t go down there.”

  Angela placed a hand on his shivering arm. “You need to tell Sam. After she’s over her meltdown, tell her the truth and don’t leave out why. She’ll understand.”

  “You think so?” Jeremy asked as if in a daze. “She’ll understand that I killed my fiancé and the guilt of dying like she did is flipping me into a coward?”

  3

  “I don’t have time for each of you to catch me alone and beg. The time for secrets was before. You’ll all ask me here and now, or forfeit your reward.”

  The training tent went cold with tension, and Angela rose from her perch on the center table. “We’re all good, then?”

  No one wanted to agree, but everyone was hesitant to speak out in front of the others.

  “The secrets will kill us,” Angela stated. “We are the chain of command. We have to lead by example. That hasn’t been the case in the past, but it’s time for a change.”

  Cynthia hadn’t been invited to this gathering. Neither had Samantha, Becky, or Tonya. All of them were understandable. Those four women weren’t in the top chains of command, even if they did sometimes fill those slots. Seth also wasn’t here, but he and Becky were on a run right now. Angela planned to speak with him after their return.

  “I want Adrian let in. He deserves a second chance,” Kenn called. “Give my reward to him.”

  “I’d like to use mine to block that,” Marc stated coolly from the rear corner where he had an eye on Angie and an eye on the camp through the sealed tent window. “Only people who can change deserve a second chance.”

  Angela surveyed Kenn as the other people muttered. “Can he be reformed? Does he have a desire to change?”

  “He knows he was wrong,” Kenn answered hesitantly. “But I can’t answer those questions. Only he can and he isn’t here to be asked.”

  “He isn’t here because he was going to kill us all,” Kyle sneered angrily. He didn’t like going against Kenn anymore and he assumed Marc had it covered, but his own feeling of betrayal wouldn’t let him remain silent. “If you can’t understand that, maybe you should go live with him.”

  “I’ve thought about it,” Kenn admitted without concern. “But that’s no place for a baby.”

  Another sign of Kenn’s progress was hard to miss and Kyle snapped his mouth shut. Marc wouldn’t let it happen.

  “It’s not up to me,” Angela said. “And it isn’t up to any of you. The people have to vote to overturn his banishment. They have to be convinced that he can change.”

  “You’re giving me permission to try?” Kenn verified in front of the witnesses, surprised with the answer. He’d honestly been expecting to be blown off, not given a way to accomplish his goal.

  “Yes,” Angela agreed, aware of Marc’s fury and Kyle’s shock. “But it won’t happen and you have to prepare for that.”

  Kenn felt the double meaning, but wasn’t sure anyone else had, and moved on quickly before Marc could pull it from his mind. “I have to try. He’s the only person who ever believed I could be good. And I wouldn’t be here now if it weren’t for the way he changed me. I have to at least try to do the same for him.”

  The fact that Kenn was hoping to reform Adrian went a long way in soothing some of the anger. He was showing loyalty and caring for another person, even though he wasn’t going to get a reward for it. He also reminded them of what Safe Haven was supposed to stand for.

  “Who wants to go next?” Angela asked, marking Kenn’s name from her list. “Uh… How about you, Neil? You know what you need, don’t you?”

  Neil nodded as everyone got ready to hear a request to have Samantha to himself or maybe even to have Angela peer into the future. He opened his mouth and said, “How can I help Becky?”

  Angela smiled in gentle, beautiful approval. “A pure soul is so attractive.”

  Neil blushed a bit, shaking his head. “I need this guilt to go away. I don’t care about her.”

  “Liar,” Angela accused without rancor.

  Then the warm tone fell away and Neil was facing the witch.

  “What would you sacrifice to help her heal?

  “What will it take?” he sparred, not about to make the offer he felt was going to be asked for.

  “Love,” the witch replied. “She needs love and time. Give it freely and fully and possibly destroy your other life. The best thing you can do for yourself is to stay away from her now.”

  Neil couldn’t accept those answers. “Tell me what’s best for both of us.”

  “The third choice walks a line that mere mortals cannot maintain. Love and time between friends is powerful magic. And dangerous. Heed my advice. Stay away.”

  Neil grunted and got up without arguing further. He left the tent and a cold wave of wind swarmed in to compliment the mood.

  “Who’s next?”

  “Me.” Kendle stood up. “I can’t take being in here with all of you.”

  Angela gestured. “Hit me with it.”

  Like you don’t know, Kendle thought, and said, “I want to go home. I hate it here.”

  “You mean Pitcairn,” Angela confirmed.

  “Yes. Adrian said you would help me.” Kendle locked eyes with the woman, unable to imagine ever being friends with her. “You want me gone and I want to be gone. Will you make it happen?”

  “Yes,” Angela answered calmly. “But not in the way you mean. I need someone to take a team south and secure an item for me. It’ll be dangerous, but if you succeed, you’ll be able to go home.”

  “Will I get details?” Kendle asked, not sure if she believed it.

  “And a small crew of people who also want to go to that island of yours,” Angela promised. “But you won’t be leading them. You’re too unstable right now.”

  “Will Marc–”

  “No, he won’t be!” Angela snapped, eyes blazing. “Don’t make me kill you.”

  Kendle dropped her eyes before she could accept that hard challenge. She needed to get home. “I’ll go. As soon as possible…please.”

  Angela marked Kendle’s name from her list. “A few days. Get ready for it.”

  Kendle left without staring at Marc as she went. She wanted him, but she needed peace more.

  “Almost finished,” Angela remarked, scanning her list. “Let’s have…Kyle.”

  Silence fell as attention switched to the couple sitting together near Marc.

  “Was Autumn really the good twin?”

  Jennifer gasped and Kyle covered her hand with his, sharing her pain.

  “Does it matter?” Angela countered.

  “Not to me,” Kyle stated. “But to the future, it might, and as her parents, we need to know.”

  “I’ve sensed no evil in Autumn,” Angela stalled. “She’s a sweet baby.”

  “She is the bad one, right?” Jennifer demanded, jerking her hand from under Kyle’s. “Just tell us!”

  “No,” Angela said. “She’s not evil now.”

  Everyone understood the difference and Angela’s tone became grave. “The future isn’t set. You can keep her from turning by filling her with love and kindness. Don’t let your personal hatreds fill her mind with thoughts of vengeance. Make sure she gets to be a child.”

  “Is the same tr
ue of Cynthia’s baby?” Daryl blurted, unable to keep quiet any longer.

  “No,” Angela answered regretfully. “We’ll witness signs of it from the very beginning, with the death of its mother.”

  The tent went icy as Daryl demanded to know what she meant.

  “Have you seen the Omen films?”

  “The first one,” Daryl answered distractedly. “Couldn’t take the rest.”

  “Then find someone who has. You’ll need to fight hard and in the end, some stupid detail from that series might save Cynthia’s life.”

  “Why can’t you just tell me?!” Daryl shouted. “I hate this!”

  “Because you shouldn’t even have a warning!” Angela snapped, extremely tired. “Magic was never meant to be used this way and other than Neil, everyone has asked for something selfish! Ask your reward and do it now.”

  “What should I do?” Daryl asked helplessly. “I already want them both.”

  Unlike with the others, Angela couldn’t offer any hope here and she told him the very last thing he wanted to hear. “Convince her to abort and then refill her with your seed. In time, the wounds will heal and all three of you will be happy together.”

  “She won’t do that,” Daryl said ashamedly. “I already tried. I mean, its Adrian’s kid. We already know they go bad too easy.”

  “They’ve had bad beginnings,” Marc stated, feeling the need to defend descendants in general. “If they’d been raised by loving people, it might have mattered, right, Angie?”

  “In most of the cases, yes,” Angela agreed. “But some mixes of DNA will always create monsters. Without knowing it, Cynthia and Adrian have done exactly that.”

  “What if it isn’t Adrian’s?” Cynthia asked from the flap, making everyone, including Marc, grab for their weapons.

  Cynthia fastened the flap and went to a seat by Daryl. “I don’t know. Kevin might the father.”

  Angela’s lips narrowed, but she said, “We can’t test for parentage until after the birth.”

  “So we’ll test it,” Daryl confirmed, feeling like he’d been given oxygen after almost drowning. “And until then, we hold out hope for good to come out on top.”

  “Agreed,” Angela conceded easily, not marking Daryl’s name off yet.

  “That leaves you two.” Angela scanned Jeremy and then Zack. “Gentlemen?”

  Not wanting his mountain weakness revealed, Jeremy chose to tackle his second biggest fear. “Is Samantha really with me out of pity? Would it be better if I got out of the picture?”

  “Samantha adores you,” Angela answered promptly. “If you left her, nothing would be happy for any of you.”

  “Is it wrong?” Jeremy asked without knowing he was going to. “Our setup?”

  “Wrong by whose standards?” Angela wanted to clarify.

  “By camp standards,” Jeremy said, glad Neil had left but curious if he wondered this too. “Does the future include couples like us?”

  “Of course it does,” Angela exclaimed, glad that she could ease his worries on this one. “And no, by camp standards, you’re not doing anything wrong because all of you are consenting adults. But what you want to know is more about morals and ethics, right?”

  “Yes. The world was going down a bad path with the free love crap and I worry that I’m helping to restart it. We don’t need more problems.”

  “You three are committed,” Angela stated. “We all have the right to pursue happiness, as long as we’re respectful of other people’s freedoms. You’re doing that. Don’t worry about those who might look down on you for it. You’ll still be happier than most of them.”

  Angela glanced at Zack. “You’re up.”

  “I have a yes or no question,” Zack said. “And it’s for you.”

  “Okay,” Angela gestured for him to go ahead. She’d been counting on this moment.

  “Marc hasn’t pulled your tent down and there’s no leader spot for it belowground yet. Are you moving into the cave with us?” Zack demanded.

  She had been waiting for this moment also and the tension increased, as she revealed, “No, I’m not.”

  Angela let the gasps and mutters die down and then told them, “In a few weeks, I’m going south and then I’m going to Kendle’s island. I’m set to tell the camp next week, but I want you all to know about it now. Half the herd will vote to stay here, but I’m not going to be swayed. And if you’re my chain of command, like you claim you are, you’ll all be with me when I go.”

  4

  “Hang around for a minute, Kenn,” Angela instructed as the tent emptied of the unhappy people. Word would begin to spread now, but she wasn’t going to change her mind. Choices had been made, the future had shifted, and the tide would come their way. She had no choice.

  When they were alone, Angela said, “Adrian told you to account for your mistakes during the last bugout, so that when it happened again, you’d be ready for it.”

  Kenn hated the reminder of his failures that night.

  “Did you?”

  Kenn nodded. “I went overboard on it, I think.”

  “Good,” Angela praised. “Please have it to me by evening mess tomorrow.”

  Kenn left, not asking for any details. Her bombshell about leaving here in a few weeks was still exploding throughout his mind.

  As Kenn left, Kyle returned, positive she was ready for their next update session.

  Angela took a seat and got her notebook out. “Okay.

  “Cynthia is lying. The dates don’t add up.”

  Angela knew most of the things Kyle was about to tell her, but she still wrote them down to be able to compare to her notes later and mark them off. Keeping track of the futures of three hundred people required a lot of writing to avoid missing details and effects.

  “Neil and Jeremy don’t know Samantha was sick or what Conner did for her.”

  “She’ll tell them, I believe,” Angela responded. “Next?”

  “The first crate of supplies for Samantha’s crew to hide is ready. I’ll make sure it gets into their vehicle.”

  “Good. Have your men pack the next crate right away.”

  “I will. The vet has left without permission three times. We keep losing him in the darkness.”

  “Let me know if you ever discover where he disappears to,” Angela said, certain they wouldn’t. The vet was slyer than the Eagles.

  “Kendle didn’t help with the move at all. She stayed in Adrian’s camp all day.”

  “She has a huge fear about being underground,” Angela explained. “The man who hurt her held her underground in a tunnel and then inside a cave. She’ll never step foot in ours.”

  “That’s awful!” Kyle exclaimed, finally getting the explanation about what had caused all her scars. “I’m sorry the other men don’t like her much.”

  “I don’t like her much either,” Angela reminded him. “What’s next?”

  “Jennifer wants me to get her pregnant–now,” Kyle blurted, unable to hold it in any longer.

  Angela took in his red profile. “Nervous?”

  Kyle nodded quickly. “And scared it won’t go well, terrified she’ll actually get pregnant so soon after Autumn, and well, I’m a bit worn out with all the attacks and action. I may have missed some details.”

  Angela wasn’t concerned over that. “I’ll cover it. Take tomorrow off, alone somewhere, and figure out what you want. When you do that, the drama and choices always get easier.”

  “My wants don’t matter now,” Kyle stated. “I have to do what’s best for Jenny and the baby, and I’m not sure this is.”

  “Only you can determine that,” Angela told him. “But I wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. She’s coming to you, asking you to heal her. Don’t deny what both of you need because you’re scared she won’t like you afterwards. Make sure she does. Do it right.”

  “Easy for you to say,” Kyle grumbled.

  “Yeah,” Angela agreed, chuckling. “Maybe you should talk to Marc. He is everywhere, y
ou know.”

  5

  North of Safe Haven, a small group of men rolled into the debris-littered parking lot of the train station that Adrian had destroyed. The bald man that Vlad had sent for help was behind the wheel of the jeep and he pulled to the edge of the damage. He unlocked the doors and a man came from the shadows to climb into the empty front seat.

  “Welcome back,” Vlad said from the rear. “Good hunting?”

  The man held out a Polaroid of two people bound to a tree, both bloody and wearing all black. “Two here, two being tracked.”

  Vlad enjoyed the images as the bald man, who preferred to be called Blade, steered them toward the mountains. He’d picked Vlad up a mile from here and now that they were complete, except for the hunters, Blade drove them to the location Vlad had given him.

  “When are they coming?” the front passenger asked. He was Marc’s lose lurker.

  “A week to ten days,” Blade answered. “The trains have to be unloaded before the troops can roll.”

  “Looks like snow coming,” Vlad pointed out. “Keep to the secondary plan we made. If our troops fail, we’ll be ready.”

  Blade obediently rolled them along without giving their informant more information. These lower-level men would be eliminated after the attack. Only their top men would enjoy the spoils of this war, but it was one that Blade found himself dreading.

  He and Vlad had decided they would gain a hold over Safe Haven during the winter and come spring, send them out to toil in fields and on farms. They needed those slaves and caves. A new country, one where descendants ruled, wasn’t going to build itself.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Other Plans

  1

  Dog pushed his heavy warmth down on the two shivering mutts, trying to lend his heat. With little fur and no outdoor experience, the tiny animals had no business traveling through a blizzard at night. Neither do I, Dog thought.

  The engine roared to life under them and Sally shouted in triumph as her dogs whimpered in fear. She had stopped to fill up the gas tank and it had taken a long time to accomplish against the driving wind. Sally lowered her goggles and pulled the large tarp back over the two cars, creating a vacuum of space that would fill with the heat of their bodies. She had a hole in it for her head, and she quickly tucked it under gear to hold the ends down. Then, she gunned the engine and drove them forward, straight into the snowstorm.