“You stay near me ok?” Kyle said.
“Ok,” she replied. “But I think they’re good people.”
“Maybe so,” Kyle agreed.
At the bottom of the ramp Luke pulled the Hummer into a parking space and indicated for Kyle to pull up in the next empty space. Colin was the first to come over, bringing German with him. McKenna, having overcome her earlier misgivings about the dog, didn’t wait on an all clear from Kyle before opening the door and sliding out.
“McKenna right?” Colin verified.
McKenna nodded, suddenly having lost all of her planned bravado and newly found outgoing personality.
“This is German.” Colin brought German forward. The dog stood at McKenna’s shoulder. He wagged his tail and licked McKenna’s face making her laugh. “He likes you.”
McKenna reached out touching the dog’s head, stroking his ear. He was a beautiful dog. She missed her dogs, sometimes more than she missed her family. And now, with German standing there in front of her, she felt at peace, something she hadn’t experienced since the aliens took everyone away. Colin would have understood and although he shared German with everyone, he very much thought of the dog as his dog.
Kyle came around the truck and stood next to McKenna. He wasn’t surprised by her change in attitude. A dog could melt a person’s heart like nothing else and he liked to believe the animal’s warm behavior was an indication of the kind of people Luke and his friends might be.
“Come on. They’re all waiting to meet you,” Colin said. “We haven’t found anyone in a long time.”
“How many live down here?” Kyle asked.
“We were up to eighteen with the babies, but,” Ed paused, “but not anymore.”
“What happened?” Kyle asked.
Colin and Luke exchanged weary expressions, Ed kept walking, not looking at anyone. “We lost a family member last week,” Ed answered. “There was an accident. There’s no doctors, so...” His voice trailed off.
“I’m sorry.” Kyle offered.
“Yeah, so are we,” Ed replied and walked on.
After a few moments Kyle asked, “You sure you have room for two more?”
“Did you say babies?” McKenna asked.
“Space is one thing we do not have to worry about,” Ed assured him. “And yes babies. Anne had her twins and—”
“We’re here,” Colin announced and opened the door to the diner.
The newcomers were overtaken by smiling faces and friendly greetings of the bunker’s residents. Everyone welcomed the distraction after the past week. Two new lives to fill the void of one special life lost. New life brought new hope for survival when they discovered Kyle had traveled from Germany.
18 The Greatest Odds
That afternoon Kyle and McKenna settled into their rooms. Charlie, who kept to herself unless with Colin, took an instant liking to McKenna and invited her to be her roommate. Charlie didn’t have a roommate and, although she enjoyed spending time with Colin, thought having a friend would be nice. Leery about being away from Kyle, McKenna needed only a little prodding before she’d accepted Charlie’s offer. She couldn’t help feeling elated at the prospect of having friends. Kyle gave her his blessing, which eased her guilt over feeling as if she was abandoning him.
If Kyle had known McKenna fretted over him, he would have assured her that guilt was not necessary. He was beyond relieved to have found this group of people with kids young enough for McKenna to feel comfortable with, for him to feel comfortable enough to allow her out of his sight for longer than a few minutes. More than that, if he had to leave her behind he could do so with a clear conscience. It was the first time since leaving Germany he felt able to relax.
Kyle’s suite was across from Austin’s, who along with Zack, hadn’t been part of the welcoming committee. Later when Kyle opened his door to step out for dinner, he did so at the same time Austin and Caleb opened theirs. The two men stared at each other.
“You must be Austin,” Kyle stepped across the hall extending his hand.
“And you must be Kyle.” Austin shook Kyle’s hand, thinking he was a kid, not much older than Luke, if he had to guess. “Nice to meet you.”
“Same here. The others talked you up quite a bit. I half expected to see a giant S on your chest,” Kyle joked.
“You’re disappointed?” Austin teased, knowing it wasn’t fair since he could hear the man’s thoughts, but he hadn’t asked for the ability. Eve herself had been unaware of the small side effect until he’d brought it up.
Kyle choked a bit. “Not at all.”
Austin smiled, easing Kyle’s discomfort. “This is my son Caleb.”
“Now that I could have guessed. Nice to meet you Caleb.”
“Very pleased to meet you Mr. Bosch.” Caleb shook Kyle’s hand, careful to not squeeze too tight.
“You ready to eat like a king?” Austin asked, hoping to distract Kyle from thinking too much about how Caleb knew his last name.
“Sure, but I need to find McKenna.” Kyle turned, but wasn’t sure which way to go.
“She’s already in the dining room,” Caleb announced.
“Oh. Well let’s eat then.” Kyle glanced down at Caleb. Cute kid he thought, cute and a bit off, but wasn’t sure why he would think the latter.
The two men walked down the corridor while Caleb skipped ahead. They were shoulder to shoulder in height, Austin being the broader of the two. They walked in silence, although both had a thousand questions to ask the other. They entered the dining room and were almost the last to sit down. Caleb was quickly grabbed up by Jane and the other girls who thought he was too precious for words. Caleb didn’t mind the attention. The humans were fun, like playing with a new toy.
Colin sat at the head of the table taking Zack’s place as host. He’d tried to convince his brother to come out of his room, but he’d declined. Ed had taken a shot at coaxing him out as well, but also failed. Not even the prospect of new people could persuade him to join them. Over the past year, during the entire ordeal, Colin had never seen Zack miserable or depressed and now he was both. This scared Colin more and more each passing day. The only thing easing his fears was Austin’s promise to talk with Zack. If anyone could get through to his brother, the captain was that person.
Ed and Jenny were handling dinner, which meant Irish fare. Beer, cottage pie, and corned beef were on the evening’s menu. The only other residents not present were Anne and Grace. Anne was nursing, and Grace, after her last check up, had been put on strict bed rest. Austin made excuses for Roxanne, but other than Charlie, no one cared much that she decided to not join them. The others thought Roxanne an odd sort, cold at times, but would never say anything to that effect.
No one had thought this more than Madison, something Austin had been fully aware of, as well as being cognizant of the uneasiness felt by the rest of the group. If the truth were told about Eve, about what occurred the day Madison died, if told about many things, he’d no doubts of their reaction. Keeping secrets had never been his way or how he liked dealing with people, but their circumstances were different, their situation unique and delicate. Keeping balance amongst them remained key to a peaceful coexistence.
Austin turned his attention to the end of the table where Luke sat alone wearing a permanent scowl. Since Madison’s death he’d become more reclusive and incommunicative. Jenny seemed to be the only person able to draw him out from under the dark cloud he walked under. Talk of the baby brought light into his eyes, animation into his voice, but these were all too fleeting.
They hadn’t announced Jenny’s pregnancy yet, but would need to do so soon. As with anything where the Adita were involved, time never came and went in the same manner they expected. Pregnancies were nine months, not six as Eve had warned Jenny to expect. Austin had discussed the timing of the announcement with Ed and Jenny. If planned right they could push the news out so that when delivery day arrived appearances would seem Jenny had carried the baby about eight month
s. A few weeks premature wouldn’t raise suspicions with anyone, except the one person who was no longer with them. Austin smiled to himself. Madison had had an eagle eye for details and a nose for sniffing out the truth. She was missed. He missed her and he knew Luke missed her more than the rest.
The kitchen doors swung open drawing everyone’s attention. Ed and Jenny pushed out two carts loaded with comfort food. “Dinner is served,” Ed announced, using a watered down version of his usual enthusiastic attitude. Even he, who could find the silver lining in the darkest of clouds, couldn’t make sense of Madison’s death.
The meal took center stage and for the next hour conversation centered on eating and the Irish. Safe subjects. McKenna couldn’t get over the abundance of food and, as she popped another bite of pie into her mouth, she hoped to never eat another peanut butter and jelly sandwich ever again. She caught Kyle watching her and gave him a big smile. He winked back at her.
Jane and Sue sat on either side of Caleb taking care of his every need. They couldn’t help being drawn to him, because, though they hadn’t discussed or even thought about it, he reminded them of their younger brother Mike, who would have been his age. Caleb understood this, as did his father, who kept a watchful eye on his son.
Zoe, who usually talked nonstop, sat stirring her food around her plate. Of all the girls, she was the only one not completely scarred by what took place in Section Seven. Being too young had saved her from the horrors the others experienced, which in turn allowed her to move on and eventually forget. Having a carefree attitude also made her more vulnerable and ill-equipped to deal with Madison’s death.
Austin added little to the conversation. No one expected him to talk much and he was fine with playing that role. Tonight, more so than any other, he was impatient for the evening to end. He absently stirred his food around on his plate. The conversation around him and inside his head turned into a dull hum. Thoughts of Eve commanded his attention. He laid his fork down, propped his elbow on the table, and placed his hand on his head.
Charlie watched Austin and wondered what bothered him. Those who knew him best would have suspected something other than Madison’s death weighed on him this evening. By Ed’s expression, she could tell he also worried. What does it matter what’s bothering him? She asked herself. It wasn’t like he gave a damn about her anymore. Charlie almost dropped her fork when Austin looked up and his piercing eyes bore into hers. You can hear me, she thought and despite it sounding silly, even absurd, Charlie couldn’t help thinking this was true. She stared into his eyes unable to look away and for the briefest of moments felt like she was seeing two people. Austin on the surface, but someone darker, more ominous behind him.
“Girls turn to cleanup,” Ed announced, drawing Charlie’s attention back to the table and away from Austin.
Charlie jumped up, happy to be on cleanup detail. Before the aliens arrived she wouldn’t have been caught dead doing the dishes. That’s why they had servants, she would have told anyone who dared to suggest she wash a dish. Those days were long gone and Charlie, more than the others, looked forward to the menial tasks. Colin teased her about how clean she kept her room, but he didn’t know any better. If he’d paid attention, maybe looked past the stars in his love struck eyes, he might have realized her compulsion to clean was more than a weird quirk. But he couldn’t have known she sometimes stayed up until the early morning hours cleaning, any more than he could have known the reason why. For Charlie the reason was simple, keeping busy was the one thing standing between her and breaking her promise to Austin.
Once the table was cleared, the dishes washed and everything returned to its rightful place, Austin asked Kyle if he wouldn’t mind telling them about his journey to Colorado. At this suggestion the room grew quiet and they turned their attention on the new guy. His story was what they’d all been waiting to hear, but didn’t want to be rude in asking before he finished eating.
Kyle began his story from the time the massive cloud first dropped down over the US and Canada and fifty minutes later paused after telling them about his excursion across the Bering Strait and what he now believed were Svan visiting him on the island.
After dessert was served, Kyle continued. “I crawled into Deadbear, Alaska on a wing and a prayer. And that’s where I found McKenna.”
“Deadbear?” Austin asked.
“Yeah. Looked to be a shithole of place even before the aliens wiped out the population.”
“I was born there,” Austin replied.
“Aw hell,” Kyle said, embarrassed. “Man I’m sorry. I mean I’m sure it wasn’t all that bad.”
“It was worse.”
Kyle felt like a heel. What were the odds of coming across someone from Deadbear? They had to be worse than winning the lottery. Yet here sat a man born in that godforsaken place. The image of the yellow newspaper clipping taped to the window of the gas station came back to him. What was that name? Reynolds? D. Reynolds. Austin Reynolds. “Shit,” Kyle said under his breath.
“My father was Donny Reynolds,” Austin said. “He died when I was nine.”
Luke and Ed, who were hearing for the first time about Austin’s father, were somewhat taken by surprise. They knew so little about Austin’s past, or his family. Ed had joked with Luke that he thought Austin had been born a grown man.
“You said all of Europe is still there and operating as normal?” Austin asked.
“Yeah. I mean things were rough at first, but you know they returned to normal. Sort of normal anyway.”
“We can go back the way you came then.” Luke said. “We might have a chance against the Adita.
“Who are the Adita?”
And so Kyle heard about the incredible journey they had taken, from Drop Day to Cheyenne to Bliss, and how they’d wound up living in the bunker. At the end of their tale he sighed and shook his head, finding the entire thing almost too hard to believe, except he’d seen the Svan up close and knew it wasn’t bullshit.
On the other side of the table Ed was shaking his head over a thought he was stuck on. “I’m not going anywhere,” he blurted out. “I’m going to find my son.”
“I’m with Ed,” Luke said.
“Why’d you leave Germany?” Austin asked before the discussion turned to expeditions across the US.
Kyle’s hand moved to his pocket. “I was hoping to find my mother and sister, Grace. The last time we talked they were going to Cheyenne Mountain.”
“Did you say Grace?” Ed asked.
“We have a Grace,” Zoe announced.
“What do you mean you have a Grace?”
“I mean, like, we have a Grace, she lives here. She’s didn’t come to dinner cuz she’s really pregnant,” Zoe explained, but wished she’d kept her mouth shut when Kyle’s face turned pale.
From his pocket Kyle pulled out the picture he’d kept close to his heart for over a year now. He handed it across the table to Zoe. She didn’t have to look twice before nodding her head. She handed the picture to Ed. This was too big for her to handle, let an adult say it out loud.
“That’s our Grace,” Ed confirmed.
“Where is she?” Kyle could barely speak. “Is she ok?”
“She’s fine. Her blood pressure has been elevated is all,” Austin assured him.
“When’s the baby due?”
“Three weeks,” Jeremy spoke up.
Kyle looked at the young man and knew without asking that he must be the father. “You’re her husband?”
Jeremy shook his head. “I’m...no it wasn’t—”
“There wasn’t time and it didn’t seem all that important.” Ed interjected before Jeremy could spill his guts. Some things were better left unsaid until the timing was right or maybe not said at all.
“But you want to marry her, right?” Kyle demanded.
Jeremy turned red and fumbled for an answer. Marriage didn’t hold much, if any, importance in their new world, and never crossed Jeremy’s mind, but he couldn’t confess thi
s to Kyle. Kyle hadn’t suffered their fate. He wasn’t part of their common thread, a survivor of shared horrific events. Without first-hand experience, he wouldn’t understand.
Austin came to the rescue before Jeremy decided to spill his guts. “Of course he does, but Grace refused to get married while she was pregnant. Something about being fat and the wedding dress not fitting.” A complete fabrication, but Austin didn’t care. If Kyle knew the whole truth he wouldn’t care so much either.
“Can I see her?” Kyle asked, afraid to believe he’d found her without visual proof.
“Sure. I’ll take you to her,” Ed offered, pushing back and getting up from the table. “Do you want to come with?” he asked Jenny. “In case the shock is a bit much for her?”
Jenny nodded and stood up.
“You better go too Jeremy,” Austin suggested and Jeremy agreed, casting a nervous glance in Kyle’s direction.
Soon after their departure, the others cleared out of the dining room leaving Austin to think in peace, but all he found was his tormented thoughts. Visions of Roxanne and Eve meshed together, separated and swirled around his mind. He forced those images away, and thought about Kyle’s journey. If he was able to cross the Bering Strait to come here, couldn’t they cross it to leave? What would that take? Would the risk justify the result? The Adita wouldn’t stop until they had world domination. If they escaped to Russia or Germany, would they then die once the Svan were sent out to harvest more humans?
Too many questions without answers remained, and Austin couldn’t help thinking about the one person who knew the answers. He glanced at his watch. She’d been gone for a week. An unsettling thought that she might not come back crossed his mind and put a knot in his stomach. He rubbed his head. She would come back. She had to come back.
Austin dropped his hands. What was he doing to himself? She wasn’t human. She didn’t have feelings like a human. He looked at the palm of his hand, no mark, no scar was visible. Was he human anymore? Yes, of course he was. He felt emotions, he hurt, and he loved. Eve wasn’t capable of love. Love? Austin stood up, almost knocking over his chair in the process. Was he so desperate to have Roxanne back he would think himself in love with Eve? How could he love Eve? That would be foolish. Ah, but you are a fool, for maybe you already love her and have since you were nine years old.
Eve of Man (The Harvest Book 2) Page 20
