“We will relocate you to your new homes shortly and begin a census to determine your skills and abilities to better place you in your future duties. Time is of the essence as we don’t know how long a growing season we will have before winter sets back in, therefore everyone will work, including women and children. There will be no free ride if we hope to accomplish as much as possible before the weather changes again.” He studies us for another minute with his cold stare before barking out, “As you were!” and turns and strides away. He snaps his fingers at Joslin as he passes and with a last glance my way she follows him back to the airlock.
I turn my back on the soldiers and face my friends.
“Well, there you have it. Dear old Uncle Bill plans to use us as slave labor for crops and babies! I don’t plan on doing any farming unless it’s for all of us and I’m certainly not going to start having babies at the ripe old age of seventeen!”
I look every one of them in the face and see a mix of anger, fear, and confusion. I never thought I would say these words and it hurts my heart, but my choices are few.
“We have to leave. They outnumber us in personnel and weapons and I no longer have any access to AIRIA so I can’t fight them. You guys can decide for yourselves but Benny and I are getting out of here as soon as possible.”
Lance, Ethan, and the boys are nodding their heads but Sasha speaks up first in a defeated voice.
“There’s nothing out there but death. There’s nowhere to go and nothing to survive on. At least here there’s food and security.”
Belle pulls her daughter closer with a frown before looking to Lance for answers. He takes his time, scanning the soldiers around us before squatting down.
“We managed for seven years out there. Yes, it was hard but we lived through it. We can do it again. We’ll need to think hard on where we’re going, though. It will have to be far enough away from here that the soldiers won’t scoop us right back up and bring us back. We need to remember as much as we can from the maps we studied when we started planning out where we were going to farm. It needs to be somewhere we can find shelter and be secure. We also have to consider the distance we want to put between us and them. We’ll be on foot and probably traveling overland - making it hard to carry the supplies we’ll need to get started.”
Belle looks confused and asks, “What supplies? We have nothing out here and I doubt they’ll give us access to anything from inside. And how are we going to secure a new place when we have no weapons? We’d be sitting ducks out there!”
Lance shakes his head and gives her a reassuring smile. “We do have resources. There are three caches around town that the boys and I set up before we moved to the hotel. There’s food, water, and one of them has a rifle and small amount of ammunition in it. The supplies won’t last us more than a few weeks but it will go a long way to keeping us alive while we search for a new home and scavenge for more supplies. The rifle will help us hunt and provide limited security. But, it will be a lot to carry.”
Belle looks relieved but still hesitant so I lean forward to get their attention.
“I need you all to agree that this stays with us. I’m willing to add to your caches but only if it’s just us. I don’t really know any of the other people well enough to trust that they wouldn’t sell us out and we don’t have enough food to feed any more than this small group. Can we agree that this plan is for the nine of us and no one else?”
The adults all nod in agreement with Ben and Matty looking on with uncertainty. Sasha is the only one who doesn’t react and with our history, I can’t take a chance on her so I lean back and pin her with a hard look and grind out her name. “SASHA?”
She can’t hold my gaze and drops her eyes to her lap.
“I don’t want to go back out there. You don’t understand what those animals that took us were going to do to us! It’s safer to stay here with the soldiers to protect us.”
I heave out a breath in frustration. I get that she’s scared but I’m not going to give this girl a chance to sell me and Ben out again. I try one more time to get through to her.
“Sasha, do you understand that you will most likely not have any say in who your baby daddy will be? They will use you against your will until you get pregnant and once you have the baby, they’ll do it again and again and again. Is that the life you’re choosing?”
Belle’s face morphs into one of outrage as Sasha crumples against her sobbing. “SKYLAR! Stop! There’s no need for you to…”
I don’t let her finish.
“There’s EVERY need to, Belle! Your daughter is the weak link in this. She’s already sold me and my brother out once and her recklessness yesterday caused a crisis that could have killed all of us.” I turn away from her and send a hard look Lance’s way. “I’m out. I can’t take the chance of her spilling the plan to them for a better life here. I’m sorry but Ben and I will go our own way.”
Everyone starts talking at once but I ignore them all and turn to Ben who has tears in his eyes as he clutches his buddy, Matty. I set a hand on his back but he shrugs it off. I sigh but say nothing. I won’t let his anger stop me from doing what I need to do to keep him alive and I can’t risk the few cards I have up my sleeve to betrayal.
Lances voice finally silences the rest of them with its harsh tone.
“That’s ENOUGH! Keep your voices down or we won’t be going anywhere. In case none of you have noticed, our captors are only ten feet away from us so pipe down and keep it to one at a time.”
He glares at every one of them except me, Matty and Ben until they all look away and then continues.
“Belle, for right now I think it would be best if you took Sasha and sat away from us.” He holds up a hand to silence her protests. “I promise you, we will discuss our plans with you once we have something worked out. Right now, you need to talk over some things with your daughter and really think about what you want to do and where you want to go from here.”
She looks deep into his eyes and whatever she sees there convinces her to go along with him for now. Belle stands and pulls Sasha to her feet. I watch them move to a spot behind some of the other people from inside and sit back down before turning to Lance with a neutral expression. I’m willing to hear him out but I will do what’s best for Ben and me, with or without them.
He scrubs at his face in exhaustion, reminding me that none of us have slept in over twenty-four hours and during that time we were under extreme stress. None of us are at our best and now might not be the time to make major decisions. When Ethan places a hand on Lance’s back in support, he straightens back up and his face clears.
“Ok, Skylar, I also share your concerns over Sasha’s state of mind so let me just say that Ethan and I will do everything possible to make sure she doesn’t compromise us in any way. If for some reason Belle decides to stay here…well, it will break our hearts but it won’t change our decision to leave. When it comes right down to it, we all need to do what’s best for our own families and that doesn’t include being a slave in my books. I know I speak for Ethan and Marsh when I say we want you and Ben with us and I know you know how Rex and Matty feel. It makes more sense for all of us to stay together. We all have different skills that we bring to the table that we will need to survive. Please, join us?”
I look down at Ben and see the pleading in his eyes. He’s lost so much today that tearing him away from these people would destroy him. I also know just how hard it would be for me out there all alone trying to protect Ben and build some kind of life for us. I glance over at Rex and see the hope in his eyes before turning back to Lance and nodding my head in agreement.
“The truck is still on the service road where we hid it. In the back, there’s four go bags and each one has food, water, survival gear but more importantly, each one has a handgun and a box of ammunition.” I nudge two of the bags I had brought out with me. “These two have the same. The last bag is filled with food, med kits, and bathroom supplies. They never even checked them
for weapons! That gives us six handguns, a rifle, and transportation. With your supply caches and my seven bags that gives us a pretty good start. As long as they don’t stumble onto the truck between now and when we escape we should be able to put a fair amount of distance between us and them.”
Lance reaches out and clasps my shoulder, giving it a squeeze. “Well done, Sky. Well done.” He leans back and looks to the others. “Now all we need is a place to go and the opportunity to get away. I think we need to give this a few days for the dust to settle and for all of us to get some rest. For now, everyone keep your eyes open and watch. We’ll find our opening, we just have to wait for it.”
Everyone is nodding in agreement but Marsh looks over his shoulder at where Belle and Sasha are sitting and then heaves out a breath. “What are we going to do about them? Belle’s been like a mother to us and Sasha a sister. I can’t even stand the thought of what they’ll be subjected to here if we leave them!”
I can tell how troubled he is by the lack of goofy surfer vocabulary. I don’t want them to stay here either but Sasha makes me beyond nervous when it comes to trust. I had forgiven her for her betrayal and we had been on track to actually be friends but she’s proving that every time things get hard, she can’t be counted on. Lance looks over towards the girls and shakes his head.
“We won’t be leaving them. Sasha’s still dealing with what happened today or yesterday now, I guess. Looks like the sun’s coming up. We need to let her get some sleep and calm down before we talk to her about it again. I promise her and Belle will be on board once we let them have a little time to process this. For now, we keep our plans close to our chest and leave it as need to know.” He turns to me. “Skylar, I know you have misgivings based on Sasha’s history but this will impact all of us if she turns on us so you have my guarantee that we will keep her under control.”
Rex reaches out and takes my hand with a nod of encouragement. I don’t really have a choice but to go along with it because I don’t think I can keep Ben safe out here on my own.
Chapter Five … Rex
I shift the heavy weight of a sleeping Matty on my lap to try and find a more comfortable spot. He’s gotten so big that he really doesn’t fit in my lap anymore but I’m willing to suffer his weight to give him a few moments of peace and security. The last few months have been one upheaval and crisis after another for him and I worry about how it’s affecting him. First, it was the move from the house to the hotel where we had to deal with the drama of Ted and his men, then being kidnapped and tied to a tree and left for dead. He met his first friend and got to live in the comfort of the bunker only to now have it snatched away. All these ups and downs have to be hard on a kid. All I really want for him is a stable life where he can grow and be safe. These soldiers are just one more threat to that dream.
I can’t help the soft smile that crosses my face as I watch Skylar holding onto Ben. He has an amazed wonder in his expression as he sees his first sunrise. There’s going to be a lot of new firsts in this kid’s life as we explore a world outside of his bunker. I can’t help but feel a little bit of wonder myself. There hasn’t been a whole lot of sun in my world for the last seven years and to feel its soft rays on my face is sort of like a dream.
I’m distracted by the beautiful view when a group of soldiers cross the line and order some of the people to their feet. I watch about twenty of them follow along with their shoulders slumped and their heads down to one of the huge canvas tents that have been set up. There are two tables that are manned by soldiers with clipboards and from a distance, it looks like they’re asking each person questions before handing them a bundle of shrink-wrapped blankets or clothing and then directing them further into the tent. I guess we’re going to be assigned our new bunks. I look over and catch Belle’s eye and wave her towards us with Sasha so that we can be grouped together. Just because I’m frustrated with Sasha right now doesn’t mean that they’re not part of my family and that I don’t want them with us. I wish we had more information to go on for a plan but there’s too much to consider at this point and all I really want is to fall into a bed and sleep for the next eight hours. Judging by everyone else’s faces they feel the exact same way as I do.
When we are set to be the next group to be moved. Lance gathers us around him.
“Let me do the talking for us. No one say anything about Ethan and I being former military. It’s best if we don’t give them any reason to see us as a threat. We’ll just be a family trying to survive together. Belle and Sasha, you two will be my sister and niece and Rex and Matty along with Marsh will be our sons. I’m hoping they won’t separate us if we register as a single family. Skylar, they already know you and Ben aren’t related to us but let’s try and keep as close as possible.”
Everyone gets to their feet as the guards head our way. Marsh and I help Sky with her bags as we follow the guards over to the tents without a word. We line up behind Lance and Ethan but I lean to the side to try and get a look at the guy doing the interviews. He’s just a guy with a bored expression in a uniform. Nothing about him screams, “I’m your new overlord.” Other than that one guy taking a warning shot at Skylar, they haven’t been overly abusive or cruel. Maybe they’re just people like us, trying to survive the best way they know how. Maybe the guy they’re following is their best bet and even though they might not like his plans, it’s all they have. Either way, their plans and our plans don’t mesh. We were just starting to make our own plans to rebuild, like them, but we were going to do it as a community - not as slave labor. I’d like to give them the benefit of the doubt because I’m just flat out tired of fighting but that whole rebuilding the population thing sounds creepy and sours any chance of it.
As I wait for Lance and Ethan to answer the soldier’s questions, the second table opens up, and the man sitting there with a clipboard, barks in our direction.
“Hey, some of you get in line over here!”
When none of us makes a move to go to his table he slams his clipboard down with a snap and pushes to his feet with a glare. He opens his mouth to bark at us again but Marsh preempts him.
“Chill, dude! We’re all one family and your buddy’s taking our deets.”
The soldier scans our group and shakes his head. “B.S. There’s no way this many people in one family survived!”
Skylar moves out of the line with Ben and holds up her hand to stop whatever smart-ass remark Marsh is about to impart with a weary shake of her head.
“Its fine, Ben and I can give him what he needs. Anything to get into a bed faster.”
I move up closer to hear what he’s going to ask but burn at the satisfied smirk that crosses his face when he asks, “Names?”
“Skylar and Ben Ross.”
“Ages?”
“Seventeen and seven.”
“And what skills would you say you have, Skylar Ross?”
She stares at him impassively before slowly shaking her head and then points at the doors to the bunker.
“Ask AIRIA.”
He looks up at her incredulously with his pen hovering over the clipboard. “Excuse me? What would you know about AIRIA?”
I see her shoulders tighten up.
“AIRIA has basically been my Mother, Father, teacher and best friend for the last seven years. That’s my home right there that you all are moving into!” She stabs a finger towards the bunker. “So, if you get anything freshly grown to eat or drink, you can thank me because I grew it, harvested it or milked it. If you want to know anything else about me or my home, ask AIRIA! Now give us a bed!”
The soldier just sits there unsure of what to say or do for a few seconds until a voice comes from behind us.
“Hey Benson, I got this one. Why don’t you head inside and hand in your paperwork?”
Both Skylar, Ben and I turn around to see the teenager who was in her Hummer standing behind us. He tries to give us a smile but it’s uncertain and comes off more like a grimace. It almost seems like he ca
n’t stand to hold Skylar’s gaze so when she turns her back to him he flushes red and turns to me, holding out his hand.
“Hi, I’m Jackson Mallor. I’m sorry for the way this has all gone down. I didn’t think it would happen this way.”
I stare at his hand for a beat and decide that this might be a possible opportunity to make an ally, so I reach out my own.
“Rex Larson. I’d say it’s nice to meet you but the jury’s still out on that.” I say with a slight grin.
He nods slowly with a chagrined expression. “Yeah, I get that. Our group has been under a lot of stress with the long journey here across the country but I’m working on my dad to ease off as best as I can. I’m hoping that once everything gets set up and organized, things will improve…for everyone.”
I make a noncommittal noise and nod but before I can respond, there are three “whoosh” noises one after another above my head causing all of us to flinch and half duck. Everyone’s eyes shoot to the skies as we watch three small aircraft climb into the new blue sky.
“What the frack was that?” Skylar asks in an incredulous voice.
Jackson turns to her and says reassuringly, “It’s ok! Those are drones. We’re using them to search out suitable farmland and to provide overwatch security. They’re no danger to us.”
Skylar lets out a groan of frustration and mumbles sarcastically, “Thanks for the heads up AIRIA! Those would have come in handy during the last few weeks!”
She meets my eyes and I see the exact moment she realizes that those drones erase almost all of our option for escape. Her frustration turns to anger and she swings her eyes over to Jackson.
“Can we get that bed now? We haven’t slept in over twenty-four hours!” She snaps at him.
He starts nodding his head quickly. “Yes, of course! I’ll get it straightened out right away!”
I feel a little bad for the guy in the face of Sky’s contempt when he clearly just wants to help and make up for what his dad is doing. Once we have a bit of privacy, I’ll have to talk Skylar down from her hate enough to play nice, even if it’s only an act. We are running out of options fast and this guy might be our only hope if we can get him to help us.
Endless Winter Box Set: Books 1 - 4 Page 40