The Hive: A Young Adult Dystopian Romance (The Enigma Trilogy Book 1)

by S. K Munt

  ‘This used to be our great-grandma’s retirement place,’ Reeve explained, as he slapped Titanic out of Bailey’s hand. ‘She died about a year before the Strike, and because we’d been planning on moving our Nanna into here after, all of Great-Grandma’s stuff had been packed into a shipping container up closer to our house. And I guess that metal container must protected everything from the EMP, sort of how a Faraday cage is supposed to, you know?’

  ‘I’ve heard that before,’ Finn said, nodding, because that was why her van had functioning solar panels and wiring again now.

  ‘They didn’t even know how much of her stuff still worked until we moved in, right after our place got wrecked,’ Paige said as she tossed pillows and a few blankets onto the sofa. ‘They said we could go through great-grandma’s stuff for things because most of our stuff got burnt up, and while we were scavenging, dad found those.’ She pointed to the television and DVD player. ‘None of us actually thought they would work, but they did, so now we’re some of the only people we know that can still watch old movies, which is awesome. Almost makes up for how much we lost, you know?’

  ‘Maybe in your opinion it does…’ Hadley grumbled as she took a place on the edge of the couch and adjusted her long, boho skirt over her knees. ‘I’d still prefer to have my books and music back!’

  ‘I hear that,’ Finn said, nervously taking a seat next to Hadley, noting that she smelled like cigarettes and peppermint. ‘I mean, all of my books and compact discs are fine, thank god, but nothing that plays music in any way works anymore, so tonight was the first time I’ve heard an actual track played in years.’

  ‘We can play compact discs on this too,’ Paige said, throwing some blankets to her and Hadley as Reeve chose a disc and then slipped it carefully into the DVD player. ‘But great-nanna’s collection isn’t great, so we only watch movies on it, and usually only on special occasions, given how expensive it is to fuel up the genny.’

  ‘So, does that mean that tonight’s a special occasion?’ Finn asked, sliding closer to Hadley as Bailey sat on the sofa and then swung his long legs so that he could inch into position beside her. Her breathing hitched, and then she almost choked on it when Reeve then bounded onto the sofa bed, making a point of bouncing on it a few times before he dove into the non-existent gap between her and Hadley. That left Finn sandwiched between two boys: one who was calm and still, like he was afraid of making a sudden movement that might spook her, and one who was all sudden movements.

  ‘Of course!’ Reeve joked as he wriggled in beside her. ‘It’s not every day that we find a nubile young woman in this post-apocalyptic world for a member of our family to breed with-’

  ‘Gross Reeve!’ Hadley complained, making a retching sound and shoving Reeve that little bit harder into Finn’s side as Finn covered her face with her hands and groaned. ‘You’re so slimy!’

  ‘But that’s what you love about me!’ Reeve teased, tousling her blonde hair, as Hadley laughed before biting his wrist. ‘Ow!’

  ‘Seriously man… can you dial it down a bit?’ Bailey asked, shifting more to the side so that they’d all have more room. It was a gentlemanly gesture, and Finn inched away from Reeve the moment she had the space to do so, but that didn’t change the fact that her limbs were still nudging up against both of theirs in several places, which was making her hold her breath again. ‘I promised her no pressure, but now you’re freaking her out!’

  ‘Oh, she’ll be fine,’ Reeve patted Finn’s leg just above her knee then, and Finn was immediately grateful for the fact that she was wearing long pants, because it hid the way her skin erupted with goosebumps. ‘Or at least she will be, once we’ve broken her in.’

  ‘Broken me in?’ Finn asked weakly. ‘That sounds painful...’

  ‘That’s actually what we do here, by the way,’ Paige piped up then as she squeezed herself into the last space on the sofa bed there was on Bailey’s other side. ‘We breed and break in horses to sell.’

  ‘Oh?’ Finn glanced at Reeve. ‘Weren’t you cattle farmers? I remember you saying that that’s what you’d grow up to be.’

  ‘We were, back when you and I last spoke,’ Reeve said, taking the remote Hadley handed him then so he could start hitting buttons. ‘But we all quickly worked out that the best way to survive, post apocalypse, was by using all the land we had between the three islands to the best of its ability instead of just focusing on what we were used to doing. We still have some cows here, but Bailey’s parents’ have the biggest, flattest island, which is better for grazing, so that’s where our herd lives now.’

  ‘And Jordy and Cam have a proper farm on Whitecap. Like with chickens and dairy cows and stuff,’ Paige concluded. ‘But we all fish as well, which is me and Reeve’s favourite part.’

  ‘What about you?’ Finn asked, turning to smile at Bailey, who’d gone quiet again. ‘What’s your favourite part?’

  ‘I’m not sure...’ Bailey admitted, very tentatively taking her hand so that he could hold it. His face was tinged green by the image on the screen, but it was glowing as though lit from within. ‘But I’ve been having a lot of fun since you first got on our boat, so I don’t know… maybe this bit?’

  Finn bit her lip and looked down at their hands, wishing that she had more experience with boys, so she’d stopped feeling so awkward about doing things that other kids her age did without a second thought. And also wishing that she wasn’t so hyper-aware of the fact that one of Reeve’s legs was draped over one of hers. ‘That’s a pretty suave answer…’ Finn said softly, blushing.

  ‘Wow…’ Hadley snickered. ‘People still say suave over there?’

  ‘All the time,’ Finn said self-consciously. ‘Why?’

  ‘No reason…’

  Hadley’s remark had made Finn feel even more awkward, but the opening title to the movie popped up on the screen then so she cried: ‘Independence Day? Awesome! I love this movie!’

  ‘I win!’ Reeve crowed, pumping both fists in the air as Bailey sighed, like he’d lost some sort of bet. ‘Told yah it was better than a sinking boat movie, especially while you’re trying to convince her to you know, catch a boat a lot…’ making Finn giggle because he wasn’t wrong. ‘Chicks dig the guys enough to let us have the action.’

  ‘It’s Will Smith walking through the desert, for me…’ Paige murmured appreciatively, eyes already glued to the screen.

  ‘It’s Jeff Goldblum in a muscle tee for me…’ Hadley confessed.

  ‘I actually love the dialogue,’ Finn admitted, feeling like a hormone-less freak again. ‘The guys are definitely cute, but the President’s Speech…’ she sighed dreamily and settled back more deeply into the soft couch. ‘I know that word for word!’

  ‘I knew I liked you for a reason,’ Reeve said, lowering his arms so that once again, one was draped across Finn’s shoulders. ‘That’s my favourite part too.’

  ‘Only he recites it word for word,’ Bailey groused, ‘every time.’

  Finn had stiffened at Reeve’s touch, but a quick glance his way confirmed that he’d slung his other arm behind Hadley’s shoulders also, which proved how innocent the gesture was. Yes, he was trespassing her personal space again, and yes he’d been doing that since they’d first hugged earlier that night, but he was clearly like that with everybody, which meant that the only person behaving oddly by flinching, blushing and sparking every time he moved was her. But Reeve leaned over then and whispered:

  ‘You comfortable beautiful?’ in her ear so closely that his lips grazed her earlobe, and Finn stiffened so completely due the rush of electricity that shot through her after that she practically spasmed in a full-body way that she’d never experienced before in her life, not even when she’d had her first kiss back at her thirteenth birthday party!

  ‘Uh… yeah…’ she stammered, taking the opportunity to drop Bailey’s hand, so she could lift the blanket that was covering her and slide the leg that had been under Reeve’s out from under it, which took the pressure off
her in two places at once. ‘Just a bit hot, I think,’ she pushed her sleeves up to her elbows. ‘There… that’s better.’

  ‘You sure?’ Hadley asked, not taking her eyes off the screen as she suggested: ‘Cos you can take a cold shower, if you want...’

  Finn pressed her lips together to flatten out a smile. She knew that it was impossible that Hadley knew the effect that the cousin between them was having on her, and yet something told her that the younger girl’s sage words were going to end up playing through her mind all weekend regardless!

  ‘Thanks,’ she said demurely, scooting a bit closer to Bailey. ‘I’ll uh, keep that in mind.’

  And boy, did she ever!

  *

  Finn ended up having a great time, and even allowed Bailey to hold her hand for the second half of the movie. Still, the electric charge she felt every time Reeve looked, breathed or spoke in her general direction only continued to escalate to the point where Finn could scarcely concentrate on anything else, which took some of the thrill out of finally watching a movie again.

  Finn checked back into her senses in time for the President’s speech however, and even joined in with Reeve for the recitation of the iconic words until they were both shouting them to be heard over the other, which made Bailey groan, Paige laugh... and Hadley sock them both with a pillow. Finn wasn’t surprised when both Reeve and Bailey stretched out and feigned lethargy after the movie, hinting at how nice it would be if they could just crash there as they often did instead of trudging all the way back to Reeve’s place, but Hadley came to the rescue with her pillow again with a: ‘Nice try but Finn’s mother will kill us all!’ speech of her own that got the boys up and moving faster than an invading alien force would have.

  Thank goodness that Hadley’s become more assertive with age! Finn thought as she got up from the rumpled sofa bed, making it easier for the boys to do the same, as Paige bid them a good night before heading out the back to switch off the generator. I wouldn’t have slept a wink if they’d stayed!

  ‘I’ll see you in the morning for a late breakfast?’ Bailey asked, and Finn smiled and nodded, blushing a little when Bailey kissed the back of her hand rather smoothly. ‘Cool,’ he said. ‘I’m actually looking forward to hearing your version of what went down out in the quarry the night of the Strike. Reeve’s been telling us for years what a hero he was, and I find it hard to believe that a kid that didn’t weigh thirty kilos soaking wet had the strength to-’

  ‘Shut up, I have not,’ Reeve grumbled on his way out, actually blushing for once, and Finn laughed when he shook a finger and said: ‘Don’t believe a word they say, okay? I’m the coolest one and they’re jealous, so they make up lies about me to shield their egos!’

  ‘I thought you were the ratbag one, hmm?’ Finn teased, and was not prepared for the way Reeve spun back to shoot her one last, indecipherable look before she shut the door in his adonic face, then leaned her forehead against the cool timber and groaned. ‘That…’ she said to no one in particular, winding down as she heard the generator winding down out in the black night too, ‘was exhausting.’

  ‘Brace yourself Cinderella…’ Hadley intoned then, as she hauled herself up off the sofa, shot her a sardonic smile and said: ‘because it’s only gonna get more intense from here!’ and then trudged off down the short hallway, leaving Finn alone.

  Groaning and again fearing that Hadley was onto something, Finn crawled across the bed and face-planted, needing that moment to herself, so that she could be alone with her thoughts for the first time in hours. Yes, she liked Bailey, and she’d continued to like him more as the evening progressed, which was encouraging because usually, the more time she’d spent with a guy in the past, the more her interest in him had dwindled, not doubled. But as she breathed in yet another calming breath that filled her lungs with Reeve’s scent: an aromatic blend of hay, sawdust, smoke, leather, pine needles, and just a touch of fuel sweetened by salt air and something ambrosial, she moaned, realising that the problem was the fact that whatever she’d felt for Reeve when he’d first smiled at her earlier that night had quadrupled since then, and wasn’t showing any sign of dwindling!

  *

  Finn finally got her chance to-reconnect with Paige at two in the morning, and they lay facing one another on the fold-out couch talking in hushed tones until Finn’s eyes began to grow so heavy that she could no longer keep them open. Paige had wanted to quiz Finn about Bailey and what she thought of him as a potential boyfriend, but Finn put a stop to that, pleading that it was way too soon for her to have decided anything about him aside from confirming that he was definitely cute and sweet. Yes, it was thrilling to be getting to know new people, but she wanted Paige to understand that she would have been just as happy to come there just for her, and that she was still more interested in spending time with her, than with cute guys.

  ‘I get that,’ Paige had whispered back. ‘I miss you like crazy too. But I have to admit, even I’m starting to hope that I meet a special guy soon, you know? That’s probably why I didn’t work too hard to meet up with everybody upstairs tonight- it was nice being around strangers for once, and seeing what was good.’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘I didn’t have much luck though. There were a few interesting-looking Tutelas, but every time I tried to talk to one-’

  ‘They’re not supposed to talk to people while they’re on duty,’ Finn broke in quickly, feeling like a freak of nature for sitting there freaking out about letting Bailey hold her hand, while both Mischa and Paige were already at the stage where they were scoping out older guys with guns and paycheques. ‘Especially with girls- they’d risk getting fired if they demonstrated any interest whatsoever.’

  ‘Ah! Well okay, now I feel better. I was wondering if I had seeds in my teeth or something...’

  ‘No, you looked fabulous- island life agrees with you.’ Finn smiled sleepily at Paige in the moonlight, squeezing Paige’s bicep muscle, which looked even more pronounced now that she was wearing a tank top. ‘Why the hype over meeting a mainlander though? Haven’t you met anyone at school?’

  ‘No- because I dropped out of school at the end of last year.’ Finn gasped, scandalised, but Paige just chuckled before explaining: ‘It was just such a joke, Finny. It always has been, which was why so many people here used to send their kids to the mainland for school instead.’ She fluffed her pillow under her cheek. ‘The high school section is a little better than the primary school is and even sticks to the old syllabus, which is why Bailey and Reeve still go- to get their high school equivalency. But without computers or a science lab or anything, I wasn’t learning anything in tenth here that I hadn’t already learned in ninth back at North, you know? Which is saying a lot, because I used to skip class there all the time!’

  ‘There must have been some people at school that you weren’t related to,’ Finn said lightly, remembering the tender way Reeve had said good night to his date. ‘Reeve seems to have found at least one-’

  ‘Well, there are always more girls than there are boys, aren’t there?’ Paige joked. ‘Outside of my family, anyway. Besides, Reeve always does well, no matter where he is, which is funny. I mean, he’s not even remotely cool, but he’s just so friendly and open with everyone that it’s like moths man.’

  Finn’s eyebrows lifted. ‘So that’s really just what he’s like?’

  ‘Yup.’ Paige popped the ‘P.’ ‘He hasn’t changed one bit since he was like, four. He drove everyone nuts when he was younger given how much he has to say and how much he bounces around, and he still meets a lot of people that are still like: ‘What the hell is this freak on?’ because people just aren’t used to someone being that like… enthusiastic all the time.’ She snorted. ‘He’s had his feelings hurt a lot- mostly because he just has so many of them- but he stays true to himself regardless, so people either love him or hate him now, and he’s okay with that.’ She sighed and sobered. ‘But it’s different for the ones like Bailey and I, that don’t have his confidence. I know ho
w to be one of the boys, yes, and I’ve even made that into a survival skill… but I’m so good at it that I’ve forgotten how to act like a girl, and sadly for me, most guys want girly girls, like you.’

  Finn snorted. ‘Wouldn’t know it from where I’m standing...’

  ‘You can’t be serious? Finn you were all anyone could talk about tonight! Well, you, and that undercooked prince Georgia was dragging around...’

  ‘Maybe- but it was a first for me,’ Finn pointed out. ‘Plus, it took me sitting in hair and make-up in a one-of-a-kind dress for three hours to make that happen, so if that’s the amount of trouble I have to go to in order to get noticed, then my love-life is as doomed as you think yours is, even if I am a girly-girl!’ She wriggled closer to Paige. ‘While we’re on the subject though I have to ask: what’s Bailey’s deal? Not as far as he and I are concerned, but just in general? You, him and Reeve all talk like he’s got confidence issues, and yet the last time I went to a party- yours- he was legit the beau of the ball! So I don’t get why he needs all this… support.’

  ‘He doesn’t and shouldn’t,’ Paige said quickly. ‘Bailey just… ugh I don’t even know how to explain it. He’s cute, brilliant and genuinely nice and if he’d been raised on the mainland, then he probably would have ended up with his name scratched into a heart on every tree there you know?’ Finn nodded. ‘And if the world had gone on turning the way it always had after that party, then maybe, that’s exactly how things would have gone for him.’ She sighed. ‘But he wasn’t raised on the mainland and the world didn’t go on turning the way it had- he was raised on the most remote island here, and that’s where he’s been stuck since, helping his parents out. And unlike the rest of us who all have at least one sibling close to our age, he’s the oldest by quite a bit which made him like... the responsible one, you see?’ She rolled onto her back while Finn nodded again, thinking that Paige could have been describing Mischa, who’d cultivated an air of dignity for herself as insulation against her chaotic mother’s tendency to swing between acting like a pillar of the community some days, and a messy, closeted drunk on others. ‘His parents are a lot more proper than the rest of our parents are too, so he was raised to be polite, which has made him even more of an oddity here. Plus, he always liked listening to music and messing around with computers more than he liked hunting and fishing, which made him more like a mainlander than a rural. But he’s been stuck living this rural life anyway, and in the shadow of all of his loud, ultra-masculine cousins to boot! So now he’s insecure as, and kind of blind to his-’