“My God, I feel like a baby snatcher! How can doing the right thing feel so wrong?”
Emily winced at a piercing cry and shook her head. “I know but the bigger question is how do we transport them home if they’re fighting us the whole way? I totally understand how awful this is for them but if they don’t go along with the plan, they could be putting all of them and us in danger.” She blew a sharp breath towards her forehead to blow hair out of her eyes. “Someone’s going to have to be bad cop.”
Dara raised an eyebrow. “Really? Do you honestly think you can bring the hammer down on a poor orphaned kid that’s bawling its eyes out?” She shook her head. “I know I won’t be able to!”
Emily shrugged. “I bet Alex could. She can bring the “Don’t mess with me” tone out on anyone.”
Dara huffed out a laugh at that understatement. “Unfortunately, I think Alex isn’t going to be at her best for the rest of this trip. It’ll have to be one of us. It can’t be one of the boys or it will just scare them.”
Emily screwed her face into a cold scowl. “Sit your butt in that seat and close your trap or you’re walking the rest of the way!” Her tone and expression changed back to normal. “How was that?”
Dara nodded her head slowly. “Not bad. Very annoyed Alex-like.”
Emily shrugged. “We’ll just have to do our best. We’ll be as nice and understanding as possible but feelings and comfort will just have to take a back seat until we get home safely. Once there, the Moms can hopefully take over.” She groaned at the thought of her parents and what their reactions would be when they finally did get home. Maybe she could convince Josh to pull an RV over to Alex’s and she could just live there. It might be safer!
Her thoughts were interrupted when the door was pushed open, letting a wash of end of the day sunlight into the hallway. Leslie beckoned them with a pinched expression. They both took deep breaths and plastered on reassuring smiles before walking through the door. When sixteen small, sad and angry faces looked their way, Emily couldn’t help but think she would rather face off with armed raiders. Dara raised her hand and gave a cheery wave.
“Hello, everyone! My name is Dara and this is my friend Emily. We are very happy to meet all of you!”
Her introduction was met by stony silence until one of the boys looked to Leslie and begged, “Please don’t make us go with them!”
Dara’s face filled with uncertainty when she looked around the room and saw more little faces turn to plead with Leslie.
“Uh…” She stammered out when suddenly Emily cut her off.
“What’s this? Make you?” She said in an outraged voice. Waving her hand in the air in dismissal, she gave the boy and then all the others a hard look. “We aren’t here to make anyone come with us! We are here to conduct interviews for personnel who would be suitable for a huge adventure!” Silence and confusion greeted her declaration. She strode towards the boy who had first objected and stabbed a finger towards him. “You! You look like you know what you’re doing! Tell me, how are your tractor driving skills?”
His mouth dropped and he shook his head. “I…I can’t drive a tractor!”
Emily’s face showed shock. “What? Well, we would certainly fix that! It’s an important skill for a young man. How about your aim? You can shoot a slingshot, correct?”
He looked around at his friends with a small smile tugging at his lips before he answered her. “No, I’ve never had one.”
“Unacceptable! Every young man needs to know how to drive a tractor, shoot a slingshot and build a tree fort in the woods!”
She turned away from his growing smile and strode towards three little girls all huddled together. Two of them had blond hair and one had brown. Emily guessed their ages to be around five or six. When she stood before them, they looked up at her with big tear filled eyes.
“Hmm, you three look experienced to me! You do know how to deal with chickens, correct?”
The girl’s eyes seemed to get even bigger and they shared quick glances with each other before shaking their heads.
Emily threw her hands up in the air. “How is that possible? It’s like the biggest treasure hunt…ever! First, you must toss handfuls of seed all over the ground and while the chickens run around bobbing for seeds, YOU run around collecting all the eggs. It’s very technical!” She made chicken pecking motions with her body and head as she explained it. Once she saw small smiles growing, she changed track and scanned the room. “Ok, I know you all know how to care for horses, right? No one? Ride horses?” When all the children were shaking their heads, she spun in a circle with her hands on her hips. “Well, tell me you could at least manage to have wagon rides pulled by horses?”
At least half of the children nodded their heads and bounce in their seats. Emily looked them all over and tapped a finger against her lips in thought. She turned to Dara.
“I’m not sure. None of them seem to have many adventure skills. It would be a lot of work to show them how to do all of those things. What do you think, Dara?”
Before Dara could answer, a girl with dark brown hair, around nine years old pushed herself to her feet and took a few steps towards them. She gave them a hopeful look before dropping her eyes to the floor.
“I would like to learn about chickens and horses but…” Her eyes flashed back up quickly before dropping again and her voice was hesitant. “Do…do you have food…food and heat? We…we haven’t had much food and it’s hard on the little ones and…and I’m so tired of always being cold.”
Emily heard Leslie start to cry behind her as she knelt down on one knee. She beckoned all the kids to come forward and sit on the floor around her. Once they had all settled, she reached behind her and gently pulled Leslie in to complete the half circle.
“I know things have been hard here. Leslie and Albert did everything they could to take care of all of you. You’ve all heard that Albert died today?” When they nodded their sad little faces, she went on. “It’s very sad but he died doing his favorite job…taking care and protecting you all. Before he died, he said he wished you could all live somewhere safe and warm. That’s one of the reasons we want to help you all. Leslie can’t take care of you all here in this building by herself and she wants you all to be safe and warm.
“So, let me tell you about where we live. My friends and I all live on big farms around the town of Prairie Springs. We all have huge old farm houses with lots of bedrooms. Our big kitchens all have wood burning stoves and so do most of the rooms. The furnaces that heat our houses run on a gas called propane and we all have generators to make them work with enough of that gas to stay warm for the rest of this winter and hopefully all of next. There are a lot of people there who work to take care of each other and lots of moms and dads.” Emily had to suck in a breath at the awe on their faces when she said moms and dads. She tried to clear her throat of the emotion but struggled with it. Thankfully, Dara jumped in.
“Food! So much food! We worked all summer long helping to grow massive fields of food. When it was time for the harvest in the fall, there were mountains of it! There was so much food that we filled all the cellars and storerooms and there was still too much so we shared it with all our friends who live in the town. So! You will be warm and you will eat three times a day, every day. Everyone will have a family and there will be board games and card games and books to read every night after supper. As soon as the snow melts, your adventure training will begin and by the end of summer you will all know many new things. Your skin will be golden brown from the sun with super strong legs from running and playing outside all day.” Dara noticed some of the kids looked even sadder than before and remembered that not all of the kids would get to live on farms.
“The Zoo! How could I forget? They have some really cool stuff there too. They have these huge glass buildings where it’s always warm inside and so many gardens filled with food that grows all year round. Inside those buildings is like summer all the time. I bet there are butterflies f
luttering all over those buildings, even during the winter!” Dara was relieved to see the kids who were going there perk up and start to smile.
Emily and Dara answered a flurry of questions from the kids. Emily noticed the girl who had asked about food and heat slide back out of the circle and move to a corner of the room. She pulled a sheet of paper from under a cot and brought it back over to Emily. Her little hands shook as she held it out to Emily. She took it from the girl and looked it over. It was a drawing of two horses running in a field with a forest in the distance. The girl’s voice was wistful.
“Does it look like that at all?”
Emily grinned up at her. “It looks very much like that!”
Her grin faded when she saw a tear slide down the girl’s cheek and she whispered, “I would have really loved to have seen that.”
Emily shook her head in confusion as the girl took her picture and went back to her cot. She turned to Leslie for an explanation. Leslie’s eyes had tracked the girl to her cot and were filled with sadness.
“That’s Anna, she will be going with me to the Zoo.” At Emily’s look, she sighed. “Anna has Cystic Fibrosis. She needs to be watched over very carefully and the medications she needs won’t last much longer.”
Anger flashed across Emily’s face. “Then why didn’t you tell us you needed more? We’re going to the distribution center! We can get everything she needs there, can’t we?”
When Leslie’s eyes widened in realization, Emily threw up her hands.
“For heaven’s sake, Leslie! Make a freakin’ list of everything you want and we’ll bring it back for you!”
Leslie dropped her head. “Yes, of course. I’m sorry! I guess I was just so resigned to the idea of all the meds running out soon, that I didn’t even think about getting more. I will! I’ll make a list for you to take.”
Emily nodded and looked back towards Anna but then had a thought.
“Wait a minute, can’t CF be managed at home? I had a friend whose brother had CF and he seemed fine most of the time. Medication, inhalers and certain exercises helped him manage it so he could lead a pretty normal life.”
Leslie nodded. “Yes, with the right instruction and medication it can be managed. Many kids lead relatively normal lives now.”
Emily glanced at Dara and then back to Leslie in confusion. “Ok, so then why can’t she come with us too?”
Leslie laughed in disbelief. “Seriously? You’re taking eight kids as it is. Eight more mouths to feed and care for. I didn’t feel I could ask you to take another that needs so much more!”
Emily raised a mocking eyebrow. “Then you’re an idiot. Anna is exactly who should come with us. Every single thing we do now is work. What makes it worthwhile is love and happiness. She might be more “work” but that just means all the more love and happiness, for her and us. Start making a second list of everything I need to know about CF management or find me a book or something. That kid is going to ride a damn horse!”
Dara and Emily pushed themselves to their feet and left the room while most of the kids chatted in excitement about life on a farm. The others talked about what living at the Zoo would be like. They had only made it a few steps down the hall when they heard footsteps behind them. It was the boy who didn’t know how to drive a tractor. He came to a halt in front of them and shot a quick look over his shoulder to make sure they were alone before speaking.
“I can’t go!” His face was set in a very determined expression.
Emily spread her hands. “Why?”
His lower lip quivered slightly but he bit down on it before he spoke again. “I promised Albert! He was teaching me things, like how to do a patrol and what to do if we were raided. He said if anything happened to him, I was to take his place and help Miss Leslie with the smaller kids. I have to stay with her!”
Dara stepped forwards and placed a hand on his shoulder. “What’s your name?”
“Aiden.”
“Aiden, Leslie really wants you kids to come with us. She knows what’s best for you and you should do what she wants.”
He shook his head. “Who’s going to look out for her? Do you know why only eight of us are going with you? It’s because the other ones are sick and they’re going to die…soon. It’s not fair that she has to stay with them alone for that! I should be there with her to help. And I made a promise!”
The girls looked at each other lost in how to reply. This brave little boy just wanted to do the right thing too. How could they force him not to?
Before they could come up with anything to say, Josh came around the corner bringing the faint smell of gasoline. He planted a kiss on Dara’s cheek and asked,
“We get everything sorted out on who’s going where?”
Aiden spoke up in a firm voice.
“I’ll be going to the Zoo to look after Miss Leslie and the sick kids!”
Josh nodded and stuck out his hand for a shake. “Alright! Good to have another man on board to help out!”
The kid’s grin split his face. After a quick shake of Josh’s hand, he whipped around and disappeared back into the kid’s room.
Josh was grinning, pleased with himself on handling the kid when he turned around to see Dara and Emily glaring at him.
“What?” he asked innocently.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Josh asked Leslie to join them in Lisa and Alex’s room but when he went through the door and saw the fury on Alex’s face he strongly considered making a run for it.
“NO! NO chance in hell, you’re all going to leave me here and go tearing around this city!”
Josh winced but slid partly behind Dara for cover and let Quinn take it.
“Alex, be reasonable! You’re in no shape to go anywhere yet. You need more time for your head to settle.”
Alex glared at Quinn and then threw her blankets back and sat up to get out of bed. They all saw her face drain of colour before she started to sway. Quinn reached out to steady her just as she turned her head and threw up all down the side of the bed. He helped her lean back against the pillows and grabbed a towel to help clean up the mess.
Josh judged it safe and stepped around Dara and further into the room.
“So, I think that clears up Alex’s participation tonight!”
Alex groaned out a few curse words and Dara hammered him in the arm with a punch before going to help clean up the sick. Josh rubbed the ache in his arm before turning to Leslie.
“Quinn and I were talking about a fallback location. We don’t think the ones who stay back here would be safe in the building with just Quinn on lookout. Is there a place nearby or in the building that they could hide out and defend if necessary?”
She frowned at him but nodded then walked over to check Alex’s eyes and bandage. Once she finished with Alex, she crossed over to Lisa to check hers.
“Albert prepared a place for us to go if we had to evacuate. We can go there. Or, I mean…Alex, Quinn and the kids can.” She blew out a breath. “I can’t believe after all this time I’m going to lose them.” She looked down and repeatedly smoothed the sheets over Lisa’s leg.
Josh cleared his throat. “Not necessarily.” When all eyes swung his way, he held up his hand. “Cooper and Lisa will be with you and after…err…when you’re ready I mean, it would be a good idea for all of you to head back to our place.” Everyone looked away when they realized he meant when the sick children all died. “The Zoo is a good fix for the rest of winter, but now that they know about Red Deer, I would guess at least half of them will bolt there as soon as the melt comes. There’s just no way they can sustain the place and guard it against all the crazies they say are still running around the city if they lose that many people. Lisa should try and convince her dad and his girlfriend to come too. I’ve already given Cooper my take on it and he agrees. He’s going to look for another trailer for the sled or some other means of transport so you can all head our way right before the snow melts. The other option is to wait and find bikes
for all of you. However you do it, don’t stay after people start leaving.”
Lisa nodded from her bed but Leslie seemed unconvinced so he left it at that. There was only so much he could do.
“So, where is this fallback Albert set up? The sun’s about to drop behind the mountains and we need to start moving.”
Leslie patted Lisa’s leg one more time and turned to Josh. “It’s right across the parking lot. The Ronald McDonald House. We don’t think anyone would bother with it. If they come all the way up the hill, they’ll go straight for the hospital, at least at first. We’d have time to get away while they search this place.”
Josh turned to Quinn who raised a shoulder in a shrug. “Yeah, that makes sense to me. Raiders would go straight for the drugs and medical supplies in the main building. We’ll just keep a low profile and it should be ok.”
Josh nodded and looked to each of his friends. They were about to split up and spend the dark hours of the night in possibly dangerous situations. They had learned the hard way today that they weren’t invincible and any one of them could be injured or worse. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. All trace of goofiness now gone.
“Everyone still in?”
As one by one, his people gave firm nods of commitment, his nerves got tighter but it didn’t stop him from nodding himself.
“Go time.”
Coming Soon….
Sun & Smoke, Book Three in the Endless Winter series.
-And-
Read on for an excerpt from Iced, Book Six in the Stranded Series
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Stranded (Book 5): Frozen Page 17
