by Redding, Mae
“Sure.”
“I’m sorry, Jade,” Emery said. She walked over and sat next to me on the bed where I flipped through my photo albums. She rested her head on my shoulder and slipped her small arms around my waist for a hug. I hugged her back. I could never stay too mad at her for long. There was no point in holding a grudge. We had much bigger problems in our lives and an argument over a boy seemed pointless.
“It’s okay, Em... Don’t worry about it,” I said, and smiled to let her know I forgave her.
“Did you talk to him?”
“Who?”
She rolled her eyes. “Let me see if I remember right,” she said, overly sarcastic. “Last summer… you had to be outside… at a certain time, as a certain guy…”
“Okay, fine!” I said, as I cut her off, not wanting her to finish. I scowled at her and wondered how she knew so much. Her eyes lit with interest. She caught me and she knew it. “I saw him at Marge’s, he said hi to me, and I said hi back. That was it.”
“You like him don’t you?” Emery said, with a grin.
“No, I don’t like him, Emery, I don’t even know him. I was just curious about what happened to him, that’s all. Now get it out of your head that I like him.”
“I don’t know why you are being so stubborn in admitting it. I think you do,” she said, as she scooted back on the bed to lean against the wall.
“Emery, stop it!”
“You don’t like him?”
“No, I don’t like him. Now stop bugging me.”
“Well, then I guess you don’t care that he’s downstairs in our kitchen with Kane then, do you?” She said, with a smirk on her face.
“What! He’s downstairs? Why?”
“So you do like him? You can’t fool me, Jade.”
“Did you tell Kane why I was chasing you?” I probed her for an answer while I avoided her question.
“Uhh... not the whole reason… Sorry.” She pulled my pillow up to hide her face. Her big eyes pleaded as she peered over the top. They screamed ‘don’t be mad at me’. How could I? She was right. I liked him. There was something about him. He looked amazing and strong, and he seemed nice.
“What are they doing?”
“I don’t know, talking about something. We could go sit at the top of the stairs and find out,” Emery said, with a grin.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“You know you want to,” she taunted.
We snuck quietly down the hall and Emery crept to the edge of the stairs. I sat behind the wall and heard Kane as he went through a round of introductions.
“Trey… Joel…”
I needed to do more than just listen but was afraid Kane would see me. In spite of what he might do, I peered around the corner through the railing and watched as the introductions continued.
“Mike, who called this meeting… Darby…”
I couldn’t believe it! There he sat. His gorgeous self, right in my kitchen at the table I ate at every day. Finally, I would learn his name. I waited impatiently for Kane to introduce him. He sat just on the other side of Kane next to Trey. I smiled inwardly as I watched him. He leaned back, his chair propped against the wall on two legs.
“Grant… Raύl… and you all know me.”
I turned to Emery with inquisitive eyes. “Did you hear his name?” I whispered.
“Shh, Jade, quiet… Kane will hear us,” she scolded, as she whispered back while she gave me a stern look. I had to smile. She took eavesdropping very seriously.
My eyes drifted to our familiar canvas saddle packs he held in his hands and I watched him set them on the floor against the wall behind him. “Oh my… he brought them back from Marge’s?” I questioned to myself. My cheeks flushed at the thought of yesterday. What was he doing here?
CHAPTER 6
The eight men sat at the table in the kitchen. I recognized Joel and Raύl and of course, gorgeous himself, sat next to Trey. The other three, even though I just heard their names, I had never seen them before. With the eight men in our kitchen, it seemed smaller than usual.
“Something needs to be done about Morrison,” Joel said to the man named Darby, the rather large, burly man across the table that seemed to want to argue with the others. I pulled my attention quickly to the other men around the table as they talked.
“Morrison knows what he’s doing, he has experience. I think he’s the only one who can control this community.”
“What are you talking about? He’s not the only one. There are many others very capable... Besides, we don't need someone to control us… We need a leader. I mean, what happened to the Mayor, I know she didn’t die from the virus,” Joel replied.
Another man jumped in. “No one seems to know what happened to Olivia Barber.” I wasn’t sure who the man was. Besides his graying hair and crow’s feet at the corner of his eyes, his physique was still quite strong, but I guessed him closer in age to my dad than to Kane.
“Maybe she left town, Mike… maybe she couldn’t handle it,” Darby added, with sarcasm heavy in his tone as a smirk crossed his face. “We all know there have been a lot of people who survived who have just up and left. Who knows why, maybe to find family?”
“How much do we really know about this Morrison guy?” Mike retorted. “He hasn’t even lived here but maybe a few years. There are others out there who have lived here their whole lives, more capable, who have everyone’s best interests in mind, but he has pretty much shut them all out.”
Kane started in. “Mike’s right. We’ve already given him too much power and it doesn’t sit well with me. We need to do something about it.”
“Be careful what you say and who you say it to, Kane... You’ve already managed to get him looking your direction. You don’t want to get on anyone’s bad side, especially Morrison’s.” Darby’s’ temper evidently short under a harsh glare, his voice threatening.
Kane leaned over, his hands wide with palms pressed against the table. His eyes heated, unchanged by Darby's return stare. Chills ran over my skin, I held my breath, watching my brother confront the large man that had at least five inches and eighty pounds on my brother. Emery grabbed my arm and squeezed me tight as Kane spoke in a low calloused voice that dared Darby to challenge.
“What exactly do you mean by that, Darby?” Kane’s eyes hardened as his voice resonated low, unyielding in his chest. The tension in the air, thick as butter. All men at the table seemed to be on heightened awareness. “I can’t voice my opinion? I’m not okay with what he’s doing!”
“What do you think you’re going to do about it?” Darby retorted with a smirk. With his hands clasped behind his head, he propped himself back on two legs of the chair. I worried and hoped at the same time that it would buckle underneath him.
“You tell Morrison… that I am not about to let him tell me that I can’t own a gun… That I can’t protect my own family!”
“What family? All I’ve seen is Trey and these Mexicans!” Darby snorted. He scanned the room behind him, gesturing to Raύl. “Your so called family looks more like a rebellion. Morrison sees you as a wild card, a punk who doesn’t like to follow rules.”
With muscles tense and rigid, Kane looked as if he would rip the man apart. “I trust Raύl a hell of a lot more than you! And it’s none of your damn business who my family is! Morrison won’t be telling me what I can and can’t do! I understand we need rules, but reasonable ones. This crap that no one can leave town, where and when I work, or his unreasonable curfew… I cannot build my own energy source without his scrutiny… I have to give him what he wants of my yield from the farm! All while his son and the Jackson’s are getting away with real crimes… I’m not okay with that! The list goes on and Morrison is suggesting all of that! It’s wrong! It would be one thing if he was actually feeding the hungry, but he isn’t. He’s stock-piling everything he takes.”
Joel stood next to Kane. “Morrison was furious when he found out we had a source for electricity. It’s limite
d, but still, why would that bother him? He’s trying to start problems... I’m starting to wonder why you’re defending him.”
“I’m not defending him,” Darby said, as he lashed out in anger. He let the legs of the chair fall with a subdued thud onto the rug. He slammed a fist down against the table causing the glass chimney of the kerosene lantern to rattle. The flame flickered and jumped, reflecting long dark dancing shadows against the walls of the kitchen. He leaned closer to Kane over the table. “I just don’t think you boys have the balls to do anything about it.”
Kane’s expression unyielding, stoic, not even a blink of an eye escaped at Darby’s outburst. “What’s Morrison up to, Darby?”
“How in the hell should I know?”
“I think it would do you some good to find out.”
Darby's expression, cold and calloused as they locked challenging stares. The tension thick as an eerie quiet seeped into the room. He stood slowly. “You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into… delving into Morrison’s business,” he said, and then with a huff, he left with another man. I realized I held my breath as I exhaled, the strain in the air evaporated when he left.
“I don’t know if we can trust Darby, Mike. I know he was in the military, but I don’t know about him, Grant either, for that matter, he’s too quiet,” Kane said, as the tension left his shoulders. He pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. “We need to be careful who we include. We need to gain support, but we don’t want to tip off the wrong people.”
“I think we can trust him, we just need to be more convincing.”
“I hope you’re right. I cannot afford to have Morrison breathing down my back. None of us can.”
A knock came to the door as Kane and the others talked not even five minutes after Darby left.
“That could be Prescott,” Mike said.
“He’s late,” Kane fumed.
Mike walked into the front room and opened the door. After a few words spoken beyond my ability to hear, he walked back into the kitchen with another man. A tall man, older, with silvery white hair, possibly in his fifties and a little on the thin side but he stood with airy confidence, his shoulders squared.
“Kane, Joel, this is Lieutenant General, Spencer Prescott… Prescott, Kane and Joel have helped me immensely organizing this rebellion.”
Prescott sat amongst them at the head of the table as Mike continued to rattle off the man's credentials. Kane appeared indifferent and unimpressed with his three star lieutenant general status, but to hear he was a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and came from Washington got my attention.
“The Presidency and most of the governing body is dead, the rest in hiding,” Prescott said, he paused to let the severity of his words sink in. “The exact numbers of the dead and who is alive hasn’t been released in order to protect them and their families,” he continued as Kane sized him up with a wary glance. Prescott would have to earn his trust, just like everyone else despite of whom Mike said he was. From the glare on his face, the feeling was mutual.
“Are you saying we don't have an acting President?”
“Nationwide, we don’t have much of a government anymore, State or Federal,” Prescott said, he leaned against the back of his chair. He ran his hand through his silvery hair and let out a sigh then he stood over them, his hands pressed against the table. He glanced at each one of them around the circle of men. “As far as the presidency goes… we do have a few individuals in place but I won't be discussing who they are, or their agenda. We were wiped out. Almost completely. We have small fragments of a military, maybe one hundred thousand scattered across the country but nothing organized. Not much at all considering Morrison seems to have quite a backup of his own. Other states are in the same boat. It’s going to come down to locals defending their own. I can help with teaching skill, organization and strategy, but what it comes down to is… We need manpower. We need every able bodied man out there.”
“I’m doing what I can, but surprisingly, not everyone is that willing to step forward.” Kane’s frustration with the lack of support he had so far apparent in his voice.
“Yeah, well not every man out there is a self-reliant, fight savvy, gun smart man like you men. We need everyone, every pencil pushing, paperweight out there, and I mean every one of them if this is going to be successful. And I tell you what… Their lives depend on it too, so change their minds Kane. It’s down to push comes to shove and Morrison is pushing, we don’t have much time to shove back before he bulldozes right over us.”
“Can you help with weapons?”
“Sorry Kane. I’m afraid you’re on your own with that one. There’s a lot of Militia territory between here and Washington. It was hard enough to get myself through unnoticed, let alone a bunch of trucks loaded with weapons. The last thing we need is for Morrison to get a hold of them.”
“I have a contact back east. All you need to do is get it to him, he’ll get them through.”
“I can’t risk it, Kane.”
“He's got weapons through before but his supply was cut off.”
“Maybe a month ago you could have, but not now. The resistance has doubled in size along the Kansas and Oklahoma borders. They’ve cut this country in half and we are having a hell of a time keeping them there. If they make it to the east side of the Mississippi River, we're done for.”
“How’s your fuel supply, Kane?” Mike asked.
“We still have close to two thousand gallons at the farm along with another two here and I have secured what Marge has left as well for whatever we need it for.”
Joel added to the conversation. “Marge said she’s out of propane and lost most of her fuel supply at the store with the riots before the power went out, but her two back up tanks weren’t hit. They hold ten thousand gallons of fuel each, which isn't much, but it's better than nothing. She’s managed to keep it unknown, but that is all we have since Morrison has taken control of the oil plant and shut it down.”
“Are you boys keeping up with the farm? Yours is one of only three over the state so we need it running more than ever.”
“I moved Raύl and his sons into the house so someone is on watch twenty-four seven. I cannot lose any more cows to them. Morrison has taken almost an eighth of my herd. Raύl’s brothers, Hector and Jorge are here now with a few others… We planted winter wheat last fall and it should be ready next week. We re-seeded alfalfa last year and it should be fine. Joel and I got the corn in and they will take care of the rest.”
“I’m glad to hear that, you’ve got a lot of bargaining power, Kane, and need to keep it protected. We’re going to need it if we are going to feed an army,” Prescott said, as he stood to leave.
“If you want me to supply you with food for your army, you're going to have to supply me with weapons,” Kane said, his voice low, unyielding, as he focused his stoic expression on the man.
Prescott stopped where he stood with seriousness in his eyes that caused me to shift uneasily under my skin as I watched my brother, determined and unmoved.
“One thing Mike has raved about you is your willingness to do whatever you can when needed. I’m hoping you won’t disappoint me.”
“I can only do so much then it’s out of my hands,” Kane said.
“Is there anything else I can offer you? I told you, I can't get you weapons.”
“Nope…”
“I'll see what I can do…”
“You're going to have to do better than that.”
“You just keep this farm running,” Prescott said, as he glared at Kane under a stern brow then walked towards the door. With one hand on the doorknob, he glanced back as if a second thought entered his mind and paused for a moment, deep in thought as he considered what lay ahead. “We are going to need every available man-made resource out there. There are plenty of goods and supplies out there still sitting in abandoned warehouses. We need guards at every warehouse.”
“Already working on it,” Kane
said.
“There's an underground military base out in the desert if you can make it out there. I'll see to it that you have access to the codes but I know that Morrison is looking for it as well… if he get’s his hands on it, you’re done for,” Prescott said, then paused briefly as he opened the door and signaled Mike to follow. “That's the best I can do. I'll get Mike the coordinates and the passwords to get inside.”
Mike stood as Prescott walked out then turned to Kane before he left behind him. “Are you still planning to make the trip next week? We need that shipment bad. I'm not going to count this Military base until I see it.”
“Yeah, I’m ready. They’re still planning on the trade.”
“Joel, you still have someone you trust on the inside? As soon as we sever this with Morrison, we’re going to need a way to get information.”
“Yeah, we're good.”
The others stood and I quickly scooted around the wall again out of sight, and Emery did the same.
“Let’s go back now,” I whispered to Emery. She nodded in agreement and we quietly went back down the hall to my room. I shut the door and we sat on my bed under the dim lighting of the candles that burned on my dresser and pretended to look at my photo albums.
“I’m not sure I like what they were saying,” Emery said. She was a very smart little girl but I wondered how much she really understood the seriousness of everything.
“I know…”
The door opened and Kane walked in. “They’re gone now. You can come out if you want to,” Kane said. He looked at us for a minute, surprised Emery and I got along. Kane’s stressful burdens erased for a moment as he forced a smile on his face. “Oh, Jade, by the way, you left our saddle packs at Marge’s yesterday.”
My cheeks flushed crimson red as I shriveled into the fluff of my soft downy comforter. Kane looked at me puzzled.
“Sorry, it won’t happen again.”
“I’m running to the farm for a few hours, I’ll be back before midnight.”
“Okay… Want help?”
