For a split second her eyes enlarged in alarm and she tilted backwards. Then she recovered quickly. The man beside her with the pistol did not. He took a step back and began looking around. The redhead, however, was a perfect mannequin imposter.
"Well, it is nice to meet you, Mason. I will leave this list of rules with you to peruse at your leisure. Let me just mention a few things so we don't have any misunderstandings before your entire family gets a chance to familiarize themselves with our requests."
When she used the word family she glanced briefly at Jada. Her dark skin was a sharp contrast to Riley's paleness. I had more of a tan, but Riley and I might look like we were siblings. Maybe the patrol guys that spotted us twice mentioned the appearance of some of our women.
"You cannot raid any houses in this neighborhood," she told us. "There are residents in many of those closer to the main road and the others are all considered property of the Children of the Phoenix. This house alone will be allotted to you. Any homes that do not connect to this area by side street are available for salvage."
She glanced between us to gauge our reaction before continuing. "No use of firearms are permitted here. If you encounter any diseased individuals, you will need to report it to us immediately on channel two of the walkie-talkie. I'm told that you may already have one in your possession."
Again, she paused, but I waited patiently trying not to signal a response.
"We have plenty of provisions and we share them among our people. We just need all of you to come down to the large office building on the main road to register. Please do that as soon as possible, by tomorrow at the latest. It would make your neighbors feel more comfortable."
Then she rolled the scroll back up and handed it to me as she said nervously, "Mason, can I assume that we will now be permitted to depart in peace?"
I got the distinct impression that she knew who I was and had reason to fear me. The man's gun hand was twitching again, and Jada was staring daggers at him, practically daring him to make a move.
"Sure," I pretended to be surprised by the request. "Will someone return to get this document back? Are you expecting it to be signed?"
"No, you may keep the scroll for reference," she answered as she stepped back to signal that they would be leaving now. The others in her group happily retreated, except the redhead. She lingered just a second longer before turning. "They'll have you sign something down at the office when you register. They'll have a nice gift package for you as well. And supplies, of course. You'll get three-days-worth of water for each person in your household."
"That does sounds good," I told her.
Still backing her way down the steps, Esther looked to be a little afraid. "I encourage you to comply, Mason. You and your people will be happy that you did."
Was that last part a threat? I decided to step out onto the porch. Both Riley and Jada joined me. That's when we saw several more people come out of the bushes, a few of them armed with hunting rifles. They took note of Esther's quick retreat and responded by taking a defensive stance. Once everyone was back out to the street, they all scurried along leaving just the dead-eyed redhead to guard the rear. There was definitely something peculiar about that girl. I'd bet money, if it had any real value these days, that she was a fellow mutant.
Alexa confirmed a few things for me once we were back inside. Jada watched the front as Bianka guarded the roof for a while longer.
"She meant everything that she said," Alexa told us, speaking loud enough for Jada to hear from her peeking spot in the master bedroom. "And she knows who we are. I don't know how or how much, but it was enough to scare her right away. The man almost pissed himself when you told them your name, Mason."
"He strikes fear in the hearts of his enemies," Riley said like she was rattling off a biblical verse. Maybe she was. It did kind of seem fitting since this Children of the Phoenix group might be a type of cult.
"Hopefully they won't be our enemies," Alexa responded as she rolled her eyes.
"According to this they are," Stella announced as she read the list of rules on the scroll. "Any mutants are to be handed over to the security team immediately, or at least have their location and special power disclosed."
"If they already know who we are," Riley started.
"Then they already know about our powers," Alexa continued.
"And they do not really expect us to comply," I finished the thought.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:
"What are we going to do, Mason?"
Everyone was waiting for me to decide. Our list of options and plans b, c, and d had pretty much gone out the window. Initially, I thought that the so-called welcoming party showing up at our door might have been a good thing. And, in a way, it still was. The choice of action was becoming much clearer since their visit.
It wasn't them knocking and requiring us to register with their community office that was the issue. The scroll of rules they provided certainly made us feel unwelcome. No guns were permitted in their territory. Esther downplayed the weapons law while she was there to coax our compliance. But the biggest problem was that anyone that acquired special abilities had to be turned in and restrained. They were an anti-mutant organization.
We would assuredly not be allowed to go about our lives as we had hoped. Our future would be entirely in their hands. They could decide to exterminate us or keep us imprisoned forever. I had heard that execution was the general public opinion about what to do with people that had special powers.
They might have some sort of experimental lab down there in that big building. We could be locked up, prodded and tested to see what makes us who we are. Or, just as likely, forced to serve their interests. I had a distinct feeling that the redhead that visited with the welcome party had something superhuman going on. Or maybe she was just naturally freaky.
"We're not going to register," I told them. "That is for sure. Going down to their place would put us at a huge disadvantage. They would get us confined, then ask for our weapons, then probably lock us up. They say it is for the good of the community. If we were anything like Mister Skull's clan, they'd be right. But we're not. I highly doubt that explaining it to them will change their minds. A fanatical organization is the least likely to make exceptions."
"They'll come back with more guns next time," Jada declared.
"Yes, they will," I said. "That would be them attacking us and not the other way around. If we want to hold to our claim that we prefer to live here peacefully, we need to let them make that move. We can then plead our case, if they will listen. Perhaps they will back down then."
"I don't think that they will," said Jada.
"Me either," I concurred. "So, we prepare to defend our new home."
"Dammit!" Alexa muttered drawing everyone's attention. "I'm sick of our home getting all shot up. We've been forced out of two nice places already that way. If they come here with guns a blazing, we might have to move again. Even if we win!"
Stella put her arm around Alexa as they both lowered their heads. Those two were the most against violence. “If we are going to let that happen, we might as well just leave before anyone has to die. It doesn’t make sense to risk our lives or kill other people if we end up moving again anyway.”
"That's true," Bianka entered the conversation. "Instead, we should stake a claim on a section of this neighborhood and defend it. Draw attention away from our house."
"Isn't a bigger area harder to defend?" Riley asked as everyone’s interest piqued at the blonde warrior’s suggestion.
"There are some variables involved," I answered. "Trying to defend this house specifically means that damage done to it is essentially damage done to us. If we stay mobile, they won't be able to take that tactic."
I drew a simple map of our section of the neighborhood on a piece of paper that Riley had prepared for our meeting. Northwest and Southwest Drives curved toward each other to connect right in front of our home. It formed a loop of houses with woods behind. Beyon
d that was the river that curved around us to form a natural barrier.
The crossing street of Oakwood completed a circle for our small area. Staying on this side of that road gave us about a dozen houses to work with. We had already searched them all, so we knew that none of these Children of the Phoenix were living there. That loop would be our new expanded domain. When an attacking force came for us, we would meet them there, not here.
Jada and Bianka would serve as lookouts on rooftops, each on a different corner so we could spot them coming. They wouldn't be able to approach us from behind with their total lack of stealth. We did a good job selecting a place with natural protection in the rear.
The two warrior goddesses would have rifles for sniping once things got real. I would be closer to the center with Stella. My deflection ability combined with her hundred percent accuracy skill made us formidable. I would want both Alexa and Riley close by for their powers as well. I didn't expect a trancer or confuser to be among them, but I didn't know for sure. They might be saving some captured mutants just for occasions like this.
Bianka knew the other buildings in our extended territory better than anyone else. She had been on the roof of each of them, using her ninja-like feline agility to move through the neighborhood undetected. She pointed out the best houses for her and Jada to use, and a place for the rest of us to stand when the attack came to make best use of the cover at ground level.
"Are we sure there will be an attack?" Alexa asked. "And if there is, how long will they wait before they come after us? Could we be sitting in ambush for days for no reason?"
"Based on their reactions when at our doorstep, I wouldn't expect them to wait to see if we'll come and register. Or at least they won't wait very long. But you are the psychic," Jada said to my first wife. "You tell us what they were thinking."
"For the last time, I'm not a psychic," Alexa answered showing some frustration. The thought of losing yet another nice home was making her emotional. Even more than normal. "But some of them were very scared of us once they knew who we are. Those aren't the people in power, though. I can't tell what their leaders are feeling from a few blocks away."
"Then let us use logic," I told her. "I’m against trying to get you close to their headquarters. We already discussed the reasons for that. So, how long would we wait for someone that entered our territory to comply with our rules?"
"One day maximum," Bianka answered. "We should be ready. We'll take with us enough food and water to last for a couple days, if needed. But we should be prepared for an attack soon. If anything, I would expect them to be less lenient than us. Or Mason specifically."
I had been accused many times in the past of being too soft-hearted. I didn’t let the comment bother me. I am who I am. Apparently, that in part is why my five favorite women in the world were drawn to me. Committed to stay with me forever, come what may.
"I agree," I told them. "Maybe we can stash supplies in key areas, so we don't have to burden ourselves with carrying stuff as we move around."
We used the more detailed map that Bianka had updated to plan our defense. There were still a lot of unknowns about this group, but we had plenty of assumptions. We had to focus on what was most likely but be prepared to deal with whatever came our way.
By lunch time we were mentally prepared. An hour later we were physically as well. With our sniper lookouts in position, we could see more than the usual amount of activity in the area. Halfway between our block of Oakwood Street and Columbia Pike there were several groups of guards set up. Each covered a separate roadway. Since the roads in this section of town were not placed very far apart, they could effectively monitor a line between us and them.
Apparently, they thought there was a chance that we might attack. If we were any other mutant clan that would be understandable. I wondered how much they really knew about us. And from whom did they get that information? Were there people among them that we had met before? Possibly military personnel from the Coalition when they broke up? If so, we might be dealing with a more powerful force than a bunch of church folk.
"Maybe they won't attack after all," Stella said to me. I could tell by her tone that it was more like wishful thinking. “They might be drawing their new territory line to give us space.”
"They don't look to be setting up permanent barriers," I replied. "That's what I would do if I were taking a defensive stance. These groups that look like guards are still mobile units, more like squads."
Just then I heard the sound of a combustion engine. Not a big one like a troop transport truck. More like a car. Less than a minute later, a sport utility vehicle turned off the pike onto Southwest Drive and started heading our way. It stopped where the guards were positioned on that street, but left the engine running. A couple minutes later it did a three-point-turn using one of the driveways and drove back the way it came.
Over the next few hours things like that continued to happen, but they never advanced in our direction from the line they had drawn with their guards. The vehicle appeared to be supplying them periodically. Food, water, extra ammunition maybe. That only served to support my assumption that these were not new borders for them to protect.
"Jada says that only half of them have guns, and only two have the distinct appearance of military personnel," Riley told me. We were trying to relay information to each other at regular intervals. Apparently, our opposition was doing the same. The walkie-talkie that we confiscated had zero chatter lately.
"I wish we brought more comfortable chairs," Alexa complained. She wasn’t seriously upset, just making conversation. We had chosen to use random lawn furniture when we weren't sneaking around for a better viewpoint. I personally found the Adirondack chair I was in to be reasonably comfortable. I just didn’t feel like reclining back in our current situation. "This thing is going to drag on, just like I thought."
"Keep your feelers alert, honey," I told her. "We need to know if they are sending scouts or assassins that we haven't spotted."
"Assassins?" Stella asked with raised eyebrows.
The term was correct, but not often used in this situation. Until recently there were no standoffs like this. They were a large group of healthy people fearful of a few mutants. We were all very important targets for their most skilled warriors to try to take down.
"They know we are here, I think," Alexa informed me. "In the neighborhood instead of in our house. They must have spotted at least one of us, but they don't seem confident about our positions or abilities. It's not real clear."
"Is there someone close by?" I asked in alarm. Typically, Alexa couldn't sense but a hundred feet or so from our position. I hadn’t observed anyone within three hundred feet of us.
"Not real close," Alexa clarified. "But there are a bunch of them feeling the same way. I guess that is why I am picking it up with my feelers." She used quotation marks around the last word, and a mocking tone.
"It was going to be my turn in Mason's bed tonight," Riley said a little while later. It sounded like she was just attempting to make conversation, too. That wasn't really like her, but perhaps she was trying to shift the focus away from the more emotional Alexa. It didn't work.
"Well, you two can go at it right here in this yard, if you want," Alexa responded. "We all know that Jada would."
Stella snorted when she laughed at that. Then we all laughed at Stella's snort. The tension had been broken, but so had our focus. I let them continue to joke around while I kept an eye out for enemy activity.
After a while we ran out of things to say considering our situation. Then it started getting dark. There had been no advancement toward us by the Children of the Phoenix. If anything, it looked like they thinned out a bit.
"Are we really going to spend the night out here?" Alexa asked with a pleading tone.
"No," I answered. "Not all of us at the same time, anyway. We'll need to get some decent sleep if we are going to be at our best tomorrow. Sleeping in shifts will work. Stella and I will ta
ke over for Jada so she can get some rest. You and Riley can go with her. In four or five hours come back out to relieve us."
I had noticed Stella getting sick on her stomach lately. While there was nothing going on, I let my mind dwell on it for a bit. That is when I realized that she was only feeling ill in the mornings. Was it possible that she got pregnant already? Morning sickness wasn’t supposed to kick in until several weeks after conception. With both our bodies being altered from the multi-pandemic, could the pregnancy speed up that fast? Would we soon have a baby on our hands?
I thought that I would probably be a good father. But having a child to care for still scared me. We lived in a very fucked up world. Keeping an infant safe was a whole new level of worry compared to protecting five capable women.
Would my dramatic change in focus affect our group dynamic? Would other women get jealous of the strengthened bond that I would have with the baby’s mother? That would be just one more thing for me to have to be concerned about on a daily basis.
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