I take the bundle of clothes from her and set them on the counter before taking the water and pills. I have so many questions I want to ask her, like how she has hot water, electricity and a talking computer. Not to mention, where is her dad? I just nod and mumble a quick thanks. I’m so exhausted and sore that I still need time to figure some stuff out before we talk. She nods back and starts to turn away before quickly turning back.
“Oh, you could take a bath instead of a shower if it’d be easier on that leg. It might help to soak it. I have ice too, for after. Um, and it’s ok if Matty wanted to come out if he’s done. Ben’s climbing the walls in excitement.”
She’s different now than the hard girl that yanked me to my feet and put a gun in my face, softer and a bit uncertain so I give her a better smile.
“Thanks, I think a soak in hot water would help a lot but I’d like Matty to stay with me until I’m done. We won’t be too long.”
She nods her head quickly. “Right, right, of course. He should wait for you! Umm, I know you don’t know me and I was a little harsh at first but he’s safe. I mean, both of you are safe, here, with Ben and I.” She rolls her eyes and huffs a curl of hair away from her face. “Right, ok, I’ll um, see you in a bit then.”
I close the door with a grin. I make her nervous which is ok because she sort of makes me nervous too. There are other girls at the hotel and Sasha’s always under my feet but this girl’s something else. She’s so tough the way she handled herself outside and in the airlock and the way she looks, wow, just wow. Her hair is seriously like waves of gold that flow down her back and her eyes are a reminder of the prettiest summer sky. I don’t know her or her story but I’m really interested to find out.
After downing four of the ibuprofen pills, I get Matty dried off and dressed while the big tub fills with steaming water. Matty’s still gabbing on about what he thinks video games and pizza are, so I just tune him out and slowly lower myself into the tub. I can’t stop the whimper that slips out - half pain, half pleasure. I settle in after I wash my hair and soap up, close my eyes and try and make sense of everything that’s happened today. I hear Matty talking and talking until I don’t.
A cold shiver brings me back and I shoot up in the tub. The water’s gone cold. I must have fallen asleep but even worse, Matty’s gone! I curse under my breath and pull the plug before getting out. I feel better, the chill is gone from my bones and the pain in my knee is softer unless I try and put any weight on it. Thankfully, the clothes Skylar gave me are soft, easy on baggy sweats. I give my hair a good rub with the towel to get it close to dry and then try and clean up the bathroom as best I can. Judging by the clean smell of the towels, she’s got a washing machine that works somewhere in this magic mountain, so I gather up all of our clothes and used towels before opening the door. One step out of the room and I walk smack into a smell from my childhood. I’m not ashamed of the tears that prick at my eyes. I mean, come on…PIZZA? I didn’t really believe the kid when he said pizza!
Chapter Twenty-One … Skylar
I can’t help but smile at the laughter coming from the two boys as Ben tries to teach his new friend the ins and outs of car racing in video games. I’ve seen Benny happy before but not this kind of vibrating, bust out of his skin in excitement happy. He needs this. He needs to be around other kids and if I’m honest, maybe I do too. An hour ago I was going to walk away and leave these boys to die. What kind of person does that make me? Yes, Ben and I have been safe here all alone but was that really enough? I’m starting to change my mind again. Maybe Dad was wrong. Maybe he should have tried to help people. I can’t believe everyone out there is as bad as the people who shot him in the back and left these two boys in the woods to die.
I glance over at the bathroom door and wonder if I should check on Rex. He’s been in there a long time. His brother said to leave him but…no, he’ll be out when he’s ready.
I look down critically at the finished results of my first pizza making. Mom and I used to make pizza all the time before she died but it was always from a kit. This looks like pizza but I’m sure it won’t taste like the ones we used to make or have delivered. I made the crust from scratch following AIRIA’s instruction and it looks like pre-baked pizza dough, but the pepperoni and cheese are another matter. We have so much meat in the walk-in freezers that I’ll never be able to eat it all. It still tastes like the meat I remember, just less somehow. AIRIA says it’s because it’s been frozen for so long. She says it’s safe to eat but that the longer it’s frozen the less flavor it will have. It’s better than the dehydrated meats we have in storage though. The pepperoni still tastes like pepperoni but it’s like chewing on flavored leather after it was dried, smoked and then frozen. The mozzarella is homemade so it’s softer and doesn’t shred up as well as the cheese we used to buy in a grocery store and of course, the sauce was made from tomatoes we’ve grown and then canned with spices. So, it’s definitely NOT delivery pizza but I hope Benny and the other two will still like it.
I pop the two pizzas in the oven and start making a dressing for the salad I plan on serving and glance at the bathroom door again. I have so many questions to ask him about what it’s like out there. Funny, he’s barely spoken ten words since I let them in here but I just have a feeling he’s a good guy. I guess it’s because of the way he takes care of his little brother. I’ve just finished setting the table for the first time in forever, after clearing mounds of schoolwork off of it, when the bathroom door finally opens. I spin around and see a very clean looking Rex standing just outside of it with his arms filled with dirty clothes and towels and a really weird look on his face.
“Oh, hi! There’s a hamper right there beside the door you can put those in and I got you a crutch. I thought it might help you get around until your leg feels better. Dinner’s almost ready if we can peel the boys away from their game.”
I stand there like an idiot just watching him nod, dump the clothes and grab the crutch that I had left. Is this guy ever going to speak? The timer on the oven goes off so I turn away and get busy getting the food to the table after I call Benny and Matty over. Once we’re all seated and the food is ready to be dished up, we all just sit in nervous silence for a few minutes before Rex speaks.
“Is your dad going to be joining us?”
I feel my face pale and look quickly to Ben before shaking my head.
“He… he died a few years ago. It’s just Ben and me here.”
Rex looks down at his plate before meeting my eyes again. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I umm…” He looks around the table and picks up his glass. “You have milk? Is this real milk? Like from a cow or is it from a box?”
I’m grateful he’s changed the subject. I don’t want to talk about Dad and what happened in front of Benny.
“Oh, yes it’s real! We have a cow.”
He points to the salad with a raised eyebrow and I give a little laugh.
“Yes, we have a garden too.”
Rex shakes his head in wonder. “This, this is incredible. Can I ask how? How do you have all this stuff? Running water, electricity, all this…food?”
I open my mouth to tell him about my dad and Uncle Bill but I stop. Dad’s words ring through my head about how if anyone knew where we were and everything we have that we’d be overrun. Rex already knows the area where we live and now he knows we have lots of supplies so what’s the point in keeping everything else from him?
He sees my hesitation and waves his question away.
“Hey, it’s ok! You don’t have to tell me anything. We’re just grateful that you took us in and fed us. This pizza is so awesome! And hey, Matty, how great is it to not to have to eat sprouts for dinner?”
Matty’s mouth is full of cheese and pepperoni so he just makes his eyes really big and nods exaggeratedly in agreement.
I’m thankful he doesn’t press his question so I try and joke.
“Oh well, we have sprouts if you want some! They’re very good for you, you
know and they grow super-fast!”
Both Matty and Rex groan.
“Yeah, that’s been one of our main food sources for the past seven years! Belle puts them in everything we eat. It got old really fast! This meal? This is like a dream meal, even the salad is amazing. I never thought I would ever eat pizza again.”
He’s opened the door to how they live outside and I can’t resist asking about it.
“So, you live with other people? Do you have more family out there? Do you live near here?”
His face clouds over and he shoots a glance at his brother but he and Ben are whispering to each other so Rex turns back to me and lowers his voice.
“We do have people, a family, sort of. Our Mom died on the first day but a lady, Belle, and her daughter found us and looked after us. We joined up with another family shortly after that and have been together ever since. They’re really good people, we’re a family now.” I can tell he wants to say more but another look over at the boys stops him.
There’s not much left of the pizza and the boys are fidgeting so I send them back to their game and start clearing the table. Rex gets up and helps me carry plates to the sink and I can’t help but remember how normal this used to be, Mom and Dad cleaning up dinner while I flopped in front of the TV in our old life. I wash, and while Rex dries, he continues what we were talking about at the table.
“We had a really great place we lived in all together for seven years but a few weeks ago we lost our water source. We were forced to move in with another group that still has water in one of the big hotels. Most of the people there are nice enough but the people who run it aren’t. The leader of that group, Ted, was the one who ordered his men to get rid of Matty and me but from what I overheard it wasn’t supposed to be Matty but me and Marsh. Matty was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
I hand him the washed pizza pan to dry with a frown.
“Why? Why does this guy want you and uh, Marsh, dead?”
“Yeah, Marsh is part of the other family we joined up with. He’s the same age as me. He has two dad’s named Lance and Ethan. Lance is sort of our leader because he was in the military and knows all kinds of survival stuff. Ethan’s a doctor but he was also in the military as a field surgeon. Those guys saved our lives. There’s no way me, Matty, Sasha and Belle would have lasted so long without them.
Anyways, I don’t know why for sure but Ted doesn’t like us very much. Lance and Ethan being gay was strike one in his and his men’s book, then Lance wouldn’t bow down to Ted and be under his control which is strike two. I think the biggest reason though is that he wants our supplies and the girls. He made a few…suggestions about them that weren't very pleasant and Lance shut him down hard. We’ve done pretty good by apocalypse standards and Ted wants the supplies we have, probably more than he wants the girls. He sent Lance off on a scouting mission with some of his men a few days ago, so I’m really worried he’ll try and take him out too.”
Rex looks over at the boys when they whoop and yell at something from the game before turning back to me with a hard look.
“Listen, I need a huge favor from you. I know you don’t know me or know what kind of guy I am but you seem like a really decent person and I’m getting pretty worried. I need to get back to town to the rest of my family and warn them or try and help them if Ted’s already made his move. I need, no, I’m begging you to keep Matty here where he’ll be safe. I know it’s a lot to ask, with us just meeting, but I can’t have him in danger!”
Chapter Twenty-Two … Rex
She just stands there with wet soapy hands staring down into the sink. This is such a huge risk, probably the biggest risk I’ve ever taken in my life but I don’t know what to do. I have to get back to town and I can’t risk Matty’s life. I know in my gut I can trust this girl with my brother. She would keep him in here safe with her own brother. I also know that if something happens to me and the rest of my group out there she wouldn’t turn Matty out. He’d have a safe place to grow up. I’m about to try and make my case again when she finally looks up at me.
“When, when do you want to leave?”
The breath whooshes out of me in relief.
“As soon as I can.”
“Alright, let’s think about this then. It’s dark outside right now so you’d have to wait at least until morning, right?”
I groan but nod in agreement so she goes on.
“The terrain between here and the closest road is pretty rough. How’s that leg feeling? Do you think you’ll be able to make it very far on it?”
I look away at from those blue eyes and grit my teeth. “I can suck it up. My family’s lives depend on it.”
She nods her head. “Fair enough, if it was my family I’d do the same thing. We can wrap that knee up tight to help and dose you up on pain killers. I’m fine with Matty staying here but I have to ask, what’s to stop you from bringing a bunch of people back here and taking over this place for yourselves?”
Her eyes are dead cold serious. My mouth opens and then closes with a snap. She’s right, why should she trust me? She doesn’t know me and this is a really sweet set up that many people would kill for. I don’t have a good reason to give her so I just shake my head.
“There is no reason I can give you to trust me.”
She looks hard into my eyes and then looks over at the boys before speaking.
“My dad, he said never to trust anyone, never help anyone, always stay hidden. I’ve been alone with Ben since I was thirteen. I…I think maybe he was wrong. I’ll keep Matty safe and I’ll trust you not to bring an angry horde with you when you come back for him.”
My shoulders slump in relief. I owe this girl mine and Matty’s lives. I would never do anything to put her and her brother in danger. She gives me a brief smile before addressing the computer.
“AIRIA, what’s happening with that radiation cloud outside?”
“Skylar, it’s a doozy!”
I must have made a weird face because her face goes red and she snaps out, “AIRIA, humor OFF!”
“Skylar Ross, radiation cloud is expected to clear region within three days.”
My fists clench in frustration. Three days? I can’t wait three days to get back to town. Anything can happen in three days! And then something else wipes that away.
“Ross, your name is Skylar Ross?”
She gives me a confused look but nods her head yes.
“Your father, was his name Daniel Ross?”
The confusion leaves her face and terror replaces it for a fraction of a second before they go hard and cold. She reaches behind her back but her hand comes out empty so she lunges for the knife block on the counter and pulls a huge butcher knife out and points it at me.
Chapter Twenty-Three … Skylar
Where the frack is my gun, dammit! My heart feels like it’s going to pound right out of my chest. I let my guard down. Stupid lonely girl falls for stupid dimple boy. The only way this guy knows my dad is if he talked to him before he died. Like just before he put a bullet in his back.
“You killed my father!” I hiss at him.
His face goes blank in shock and he jumps back a bit while thrashing his head back and forth in denial.
“NO, no way! Your Dad’s my hero. He’s one of the main reasons Matty and I are still alive! He helped us!”
I shake my head. No way, not my Dad.
“My Dad never helped anyone, ever. It was one of his biggest rules! Now tell me how you know him!” My voice has risen and out of the corner of my eye, I see the boys have stopped playing the game and are staring at me in fear.
“Wait, he did. He did help us. That first day when all the bombs dropped and everything died, he, you, all drove past us. Matty and I were standing by the side of the road all alone and your truck passed us. You waved at me! He came back! He came back later and you and the lady in the front weren’t in the truck anymore. He came back and he took me, Matty, Sasha and Belle to town to the superstore there
. He told us what happened to the world and he helped us get supplies and barricade a room where we’d be safe. Skylar, your Dad saved our lives. The last time I saw him I was eleven and Matty was one and a half. I didn’t kill your Dad!”
Oh God, oh God, if he’s telling the truth that means I killed her. It’s my fault she’s dead. I treated him so badly for not helping all those people that he must of went back out of guilt. He was with them when the baby came and Mom died. It’s all my fault he wasn’t back here to save her. The knife drops from my trembling hand and clatters into the sink. I’m shaking so bad and then I’m doubling over with the pain of it as sobs burst out of me. I’m so lost in my guilt and grief that I don’t even resist when Rex scoops me up and carries me to my room even though it must kill his hurt knee. I think I hear him calming the boys but I just don’t care. My Dad, he helped people. He wasn’t a coward but he wasn’t there to save Mom because of it.
Rex sets me on the bed and grabs a tissue box from the dresser. He doesn’t say anything as I cry out seven years of repressed pain. He just kneels in front of me on the floor with his bad leg to the side and his hand on my shoulder until my crying slows down to hitching breaths. Then he hands me the tissues and waits for me to blow my nose before simply saying,
“Tell me.”
It all pours out, that day, that awful day we ran from our home and our lives. Passing all those people without stopping to help any of them and the harsh words I said to my dad about it. Coming here and learning how the world died and then Mom having the baby with just me there and her dying because I made him feel guilty so he went back to help. I told him about finding Dad’s body and hating the people in the town and wishing they would all die too.
Endless Winter Box Set: Books 1 - 4 Page 15