###
“Good grief, Julia. Am I hearing this right? You’re saying that man upstairs, the one sleeping in my son’s bedroom, could be a sociopath? How could you bring him into my home?”
“Steven, please calm down. You’re overreacting.” She splashed another ounce of amber liquid into his glass. “I’m just trying to describe the kinds of people that survived Chicxulub. Roughly fifty percent of all the survivors will have emotional issues of some kind, but only a small percentage of those may present with more troublesome symptoms.”
“Troublesome? Shit. I consider sociopathic tendencies a hell of a lot worse than troublesome.”
“Those would be rare cases. Please just hear me out. I’ve seen no evidence of psychopathy in Logan, and I’ve been with him for a week. If he were dangerous, I’d know it because I’d be dead now.”
Steven frowned.
“And he’s really just a boy in a man’s body. I doubt his emotional and intellectual maturity is even at the same level as Jeffrey’s.”
“Not a good comparison. Jeffrey is a fifty-year-old in a fourteen-year-old’s body.”
“Well, you know what I’m saying. He is childlike in many ways. Who knows if I’d have made it here without him? Remember how he helped with those men at the Hays roadblock?”
“Yes, I heard the story of his shooting prowess. Not sure if that makes a constructive argument for your case though. Great, he’s effective at killing people.”
Julia’s eyes narrowed. “You probably have a number of marginally dangerous people in Liberty even now. It’s just the new reality of our world.”
“They’re not living down the hall from my son.”
“Fine. If you want us to leave, we’ll leave. It’s not like there aren’t plenty of houses to live in.”
He knew that expression. He had pissed off his big sister and now she would slip into ‘ice queen mode,’ a term coined during their teen years. Nobody could do chilly reserve better than Julia.
“That’s not what I want and you know it. You’re much safer here than anywhere else. I just don’t understand why you’re so defensive of this young man whom you’ve only known a week. Please tell me there’s not a Mrs. Robinson thing going on here.”
He regretted the words the moment they tumbled out.
“Don’t leave, I’m sorry!” he said to her backside as she stormed toward the stairs. “Come back and let’s discuss this. I promise I will listen with my ears open and my mouth shut.” It was their father’s favorite directive; he had been a man with his hands full raising two gifted children who challenged him at every turn with logical and loud rebuttals.
She paused at the bottom step.
“I have chocolate.” He waved a Dove Bar. He had saved a box for his sister whose love of dark chocolate was legendary in their family. “And there’s more where this came from.”
She turned, intending to scorch her little brother with her best go-to-hell look. Instead, she laughed. The goofy grin had the desired effect, melting her anger. She snatched the candy from his hand and plopped back down on the sofa.
“God, you look like dad now with that silver in your hair.” She took a huge bite of chocolate. “I can’t explain it. I admit, I’ve wondered the same thing. Maybe I got sucked in a little. When I first met him, he had just been injured, and he was so filthy I knew the wound would get infected. Then the more time we spent together, the more his childish innocence worked on me. It was almost refreshing in a way, I suppose, after hobnobbing with all the self-important blowhards at Stanford. Plus don’t forget, I was alone for almost a year. I didn’t realize how much I missed human companionship until I got used to Logan sitting next to me in the car. And,” her voice lowered, eyes falling upon everything in the room but Steven’s face, “I suspect there’s some residual maternal instinct. You know, from before.”
Steven nodded in understanding; pieces of a Julia jigsaw puzzle were snapping into place. He saw the pain on his sister’s tired face. Was this a good time to mention her resemblance to the young woman who had been largely responsible for the success of the rescue mission? Probably not. Not yet.
“The baby you gave up for adoption back in undergrad school,” he said.
“Yes.”
“Of course that makes sense. Still,” now it was Steven’s turn to lower his voice, “I can’t help that he gives me the creeps.”
“I know. You’re not the first person to have reservations about him.” She thought of Thoozy back at the hospital. “But he’s had a difficult life. He was a special-needs kids raised by a single mom. He got bullied and made fun of and has been shunned his entire life. I promised that Liberty would be a new start for him. Everything is different now, and there are so few people left. Most of them will also be special...in one way or another.”
What Julia had just explained about the survivors made sense when he considered his personal experience from the past year. He had encountered a lot of smart people recently, as well as people with extraordinary talents. The mental capacity of some of those with remarkable abilities did seem lower than average, although not always, as evidenced by his son. Then there was Ed, who was brilliant at building and design but whose social skills were lacking, which could be attributed to Asperger’s. He thought of Marilyn and Natalie, two very different women with exceptional intelligence, and Natalie’s daughter Brittany, a musical prodigy who didn’t seem especially bright. The intellectual disparity didn’t stop Jeffrey from ogling the girl every chance he got though; she was beautiful. If surviving and keeping his son safe hadn’t forced him to have tunnel vision, he would have realized sooner that something strange was going on. Now it all began to make sense.
Julia interrupted his thoughts. “There are no longer institutions and hospitals to stick these people in, or medication to alleviate their symptoms. No advanced placement classes or magnet schools for the gifted ones. We’ll just have to figure out ways to manage them all.”
Steven had an unpleasant thought.
“What about the men in Hays? What would have compelled them all to behave so despicably? How did so many of those bastards end up in the same small town?”
“I’m not sure. It could have been a combination of events. Suggestibility isn’t an inherent trait, but if they had low self-esteem or borderline personality disorder, they could have been receptive to the influence of a strong leader. There’s so much I don’t know, and don’t forget this is by no means my area of expertise. I think we could learn a lot by conducting a scientific study of the townspeople.”
Steven nodded. “Yes, I’m sure you’re right. I’m just not sure everyone will want to be put under your microscope.”
“Well, there’s no problem there. It got blown up along with all my data and other equipment.”
“I meant figuratively, of course. Anyway, the bigger question is, how will people react when they discover the nature of some of the individuals they may be rubbing elbows with?”
“That’s impossible to answer.”
For the first time since Julia’s revelation, Steven pondered the wisdom of sharing this newfound information with the rest of the townspeople. How would the social dynamic change if everyone were always wondering who was gifted, psychotic – or perhaps both? And more importantly, how would that altered dynamic affect their cooperative plans for survival?
###
Logan had very good hearing. His mother always said he could hear a pin drop on the other side of the house. He crouched at the top of the darkened stairwell and listened to Julia’s conversation with her brother. He wasn’t surprised to discover that Steven liked him about as much as he liked Steven, which wasn’t very much at all. He didn’t understand a lot of the words they used, like psychopathy and sociopath, but it didn’t matter because Julia had stood up for him against her own brother. That meant a lot. Other than his mother and Mr. Cheney, their neighbor who had taught him about duct tape and knives and how to trap stray animals, he’d never had a frie
nd. Julia was his friend. She had just shown him that. And even though the Bad Thoughts said he should...KILL HER! KILL THEM ALL!...he wouldn’t do it. Not yet, and never Julia. When the time came, though, he knew exactly who he would start with: that mean girl who always gave him the stink eye and who looked so much like Julia.
Chapter 3
“Sam, it’s bullshit. I can see what’s going on here. Steven is manipulating the entire town, getting everyone to go along with his ideas just because he gave them some food. And now that his sister is by his side, they’ll end up running the show. This isn’t a majority-rules democracy — this is a Stevocracy.”
Sam laughed, then pulled her face toward his, kissing her slowly and deeply. When he was finished, Dani had almost forgotten what they had been discussing.
“I know what you’re saying, but I guess I’m not too concerned about government stuff. I think Steven is a good guy and his sister is nice too.”
He pushed away from the kitchen table and stood, smiling down at her. Late October sunshine spilled in through the windows, warming the room and transforming his beard from dark gold to fiery copper. She wasn’t a fan of facial hair on men, but of course Sam could be covered in Yeti fur and still be drop-dead gorgeous. Very few men these days took the time to shave, but now that they were a couple, she had begun shaving her pits, legs, and the nether regions. She liked to be smooth down there, but he wouldn’t care what kind of shrubbery she sprouted. He adored every inch of her body and was always happy to show his appreciation.
“Well, I don’t like it,” she said. “Yes, I get that they’re nice, but Steven is a manipulator. He gets a lot of support from that hatchet-faced broad. What’s her name? Marilyn? Marilyn the homely librarian?”
She gave an indelicate snort. Sam frowned. He hated when she made fun of people.
“Okay, I’m sorry. That was mean, and I actually kind of like her. She seems pretty damn smart. I just don’t like the situation.”
“So change it,” he replied, as if the solution were obvious. He began his morning stretches, mindful of the healing wound in his abdomen. His recovery had been miraculously fast. If she hadn’t witnessed it with her own eyes, she wouldn’t have believed the circular puckering on the right side of his belly had been a gunshot hole a week earlier.
“What do you mean?” She had a good idea what he meant, but she wanted to hear it from him. For the first time since their arrival in Liberty, she felt a stirring of interest in staying put.
At least for a while.
“I know you love danger and thrill-looking, and you think you’ll be bored if we stay here, but I think you could find plenty to keep you busy. And thrilled.”
“You mean on their little security crew? Please. Their leader is a grocery store manager and two of their snipers are just kids.”
“Have you seen them shoot? They’re amazing. Better than us.”
Sam was right. With his Springfield rifle, Steven’s son Jeffrey could hit a target that she could barely even see. She and Sam were exceptional at hand-to-hand combat. He had taught her everything he knew about Krav Maga and other moves from various martial arts disciplines. They were a goddamn dynamic duo — Batman and Catwoman had nothing on them. But their firearms skills were merely excellent, not extraordinary like those of some of the members of the security crew. She suspected that new guy, the creepy blond with the freaky eyes who had arrived with Steven’s sister, was better than all of them.
“You could get involved in the political stuff too. If you don’t like what Steven is doing, let him and everyone else know it. Ruffle some goose feathers...make some whitecaps. You’re great at that.”
Dani smiled. Sam’s massacred clichés always amused her. He had a point too. She might not be the best with guns — yet — but she was the best at everything else when it came to defense, logistics, and strategy. She contemplated Chuck; wondered how he would feel about abdicating his position. If she were going to be participate in that aspect of Liberty’s emerging society, she intended to spearhead it...and on her terms.
“What do you make of Chuck? The skinny dude who’s in charge of security?”
Sam shrugged in mid-stretch. “He’s okay. A little intense, but I think he’s a good guy.”
Dani had met just about all the residents in Liberty now, including the rescued women who were still in the hospital recovering from their abuse. Many of their wounds were emotional rather than physical. The rapists and misogynists that had comprised the male population of Hays prior to the rescue mission preferred their sex slaves unmarred. But they hadn’t been finicky about cleanliness; she had seen (and smelled) that herself.
When she remembered the euphoric sensation of massacring all those fuckers, it brought a smile to her face. She would be hard-pressed to duplicate that kind of adrenaline rush, but maybe some stimulation could be found in defending the town and keeping it safe, as well as dabbling in its politics. For some reason, the idea of being a thorn in Steven’s side appealed to her.
“You’re a damn genius and I love you. I’ll see you later.” She swatted his backside as she left the kitchen and headed for the front door of the tiny house they had chosen to live in. She liked the smallness of it after the McMansion she had grown up in; it would be much easier to secure than her home in Texas.
“Hey, I’m not a side of cow meat, you know!”
Dani laughed as she skipped down the concrete steps and strode off in the direction of the town square, where the greenhouse construction would be well under way, despite the early hour.
###
“So you think you could do a better job than Chuck? Is that what I’m hearing?” Steven had been hammering nails into the wooden skeleton of the community greenhouse, but he slid the hammer into his tool belt and gave Dani his full attention. His to-do list was roughly the length of War and Peace, but he would always make time for Dani and her boyfriend. They were the good kind of ‘special’ that Liberty needed.
“Of course. I know he has some former military training, but his weapons skills aren’t great, and he couldn’t strategize his way out of a laundry basket. I’ve done a reconnoitering of the town’s defenses and...holy shit...they suck. I’ve made some notes if you’re interested,” she pulled several sheets of folded notebook paper out of her black leather jacket and handed it to him. Steven scanned the bulleted lines scrawled in purple ink, barely concealing his growing admiration for the young woman. This one would be a handful, but worth the effort if he could corral her prodigious ego. Her critique of their current security measures were spot on, and her suggestions for improving them were excellent. Of course he would prefer someone with her capabilities managing the safety of their town, but he couldn’t just fire Chuck.
“I know you’re worried about how pissed that skinny dude will be when you replace him with me, but you’ll be doing him and everyone else a favor. He’s just not the best man for the job. End of story.”
He grinned at the youthful naiveté. “Yeah, things are a little more complicated than that around here. It’s been challenging, to say the least, getting people to cooperate, to perform demeaning jobs, to not kill each other. You know. Stuff like that.”
“Well, that’s your problem, isn’t it? You signed up for the position of Grand Poohbah. All I want to do is keep everyone as safe as possible by shoring up perimeter fortifications and training the people who will be helping me. Maybe we’ll get to kill some bad guys in the process.”
Steven studied her, seeing her now in a different light after his conversation with Julia. She moved with the easy grace of a jungle cat – beautiful and deadly. Her intellect and martial arts skills made her dangerous even without the arsenal he knew she always carried.
And he couldn’t blame her for that; everyone had weapons these days. “Open carry” was woven into the fabric of their new reality, which might become a point of contention if their town ever became the peaceful, organized, productive society he envisioned. It was a fine line they wa
lked between taking steps to assure one’s personal safety and engaging in Wild West intimidation tactics.
“I’m not joking about killing the bad guys, either. Just so you know.”
Steven realized he had been staring at the girl too long. A hint of hostility was creeping into her demeanor.
“Sorry, I got lost for a minute. Yes, I don’t doubt that you’re quite serious about killing. You seem to have a taste for it.” He didn’t want to run this girl off, but he wouldn’t take any crap either. He would be as blunt with her as she was with him.
Dani shrugged. “I don’t see that as a problem, especially as head of security.”
“I suppose you’re right about that. Very well, young lady, I’ll talk to Chuck. In the meantime, please keep this between us. The situation needs a bit of finesse and, no offense, but I don’t think I saw ‘diplomacy’ on your resume.”
Chapter 4
“I can’t believe she would just leave. This makes no sense.” Maddie had insisted on getting out of bed and sitting at the breakfast table. Her freckles looked less pronounced, which meant her color was improving. Pablo was not the nurse the absent Amelia had been, but he knew it was a good sign. This morning, Maddie appeared downright robust. Her cheeks were rosy and she gobbled the Dinty Moore beef stew like it might be her last meal. He watched in awe, feeling all that bottled up apprehension melt away.
She was going to make it. He wasn’t going to lose the thing that made life worth living in this hellish place that had become their world.
“What are you staring at, Poet Fellow?” She had some gravy on the side of her mouth, but he decided not to put his fingers anywhere near those busy teeth.
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