Lance tries to calm her down. “It’s okay, Belle, we’ll figure it out. As long as everyone’s safe, we’ll be okay. Right now, I just need you to focus on getting as many of the supplies out before the fire reaches here. I promise we will find a new home that’s just as good as this one.”
I go back over to the wall and grab another stack of bins when Belle replies.
“Sasha and I don’t want to go to the city. We don’t even know if it’s safe there!”
I turn away from the wall with the new bins in my hands and head toward the kitchen again. I sent her and Sasha a dark look filled with impatience.
“We’re not going to the city. Marsh needs proper medical facilities for that leg. We’re going back to the bunker. Now move your fracking butts and start helping!”
Chapter Twenty … Joslin
The room erupts with questions and denials at Skylar’s declaration of our destination but she just sails past everybody and disappears into the kitchen leaving them all to turn to me with their questions. I throw my hands up in the air.
“Stop! We’ll discuss this once we’ve gotten the supplies outside. Now is not the time for this. Everybody needs to get moving!”
I make my point by rushing over to the stacks of bins and grabbing a few before running into the kitchen. Skylar is not even trying to pack anything neatly, she’s just using her arm to sweep items off of shelves into her bins so I mimic her actions and do the same. The truth is if we’re headed back to the bunker we really don’t need all of these supplies. In this world though, it just feels wrong not to try and salvage as much as we can. She looks over at me as we work and shakes her head.
“Man, this is so déjà vu! In a way, it feels like yesterday when Belle, Sasha and I did this exact same thing in my own pantry when we left the bunker. I can’t believe we’re going back.” When I don’t reply she moves closer to me. “I know now is not really the time to deal but are you okay? I mean… Jackson?”
I bite down hard on my lip when I feel the emotion surge up again. She’s right about this not being the time to deal with my grief. We need to just focus on what we’re doing here. They’ll be time later to grieve properly for my best friend so I give her a small nod and turn away from her compassionate eyes.
Rex, Belle, and Sasha come into the kitchen with bins and start emptying out the fridge and freezers but no one speaks as we all pack as fast as we can. I try and think of everything else we should try and salvage besides the food but I doubt we will be able to get at anything else from the back of the building at this point. I know it’s stupid to feel sad about material possessions when Jackson has just died but it’s easier to be sad about losing all the things Skylar and I had shopped for at the resort then it is thinking of never seeing or speaking to him again.
Once all of my bins have been filled, I carry the first filled one out of the kitchen past the others and into the dining room. The little boys, Marsh, Ethan, and Lance are gone so I assume that they’ve all moved out into the yard and head that way. When I enter the hallway I look toward the atrium where smoke is now starting to billow around the branches and debris blocking it. I turn away from it and head toward the front door when it’s pulled open and Lance strides in and takes the bin from me.
“We’ve got Marsh set up in the yard by the playground and the boys are watching over him. Just start leaving the bins here in the hall and Ethan and I will haul them out for you guys.”
I’m about to turn back to the dining room when a scary thought occurs to me and I quickly turn back to him.
“Are you sure you got them all? I mean the soldiers? I heard the one say that they had been staying in the resort and that they were watching us for the past few days. Is there any chance that one of them stayed back and is still a threat to us?”
His face freezes for a moment at this bit of information but then he shakes his head.
“I doubt it. We outnumbered them so there’s no way they would have left back anybody who could have fought on their side. Most likely, they figured they could take us out with fewer numbers being trained soldiers. But I am willing to bet they left at least a few guys back at the growing fields to control the people they’re holding there as slaves. We can talk about it once we’re done clearing the building but for right now I think the threat is over.”
I take his word for it and we both turn to go our separate ways, him outside to deposit the bin in the yard and me back to the kitchen, but my steps slow before I enter the dining room and I looked down the hall at where my room is. I know it’s selfish but I just can’t help myself from running the rest of the way and throwing open the door to my room. The smoke is starting to get thicker in this area but the heat hasn’t made it this far so I know I have at least a couple of minutes to grab a few things. These belongings mean more to me than just the stuff that they are. These things were the first belongings that I owned that I picked out and that I loved and got to keep. Selfish or not, I’m going to hold on to that and take as many of them with me as I can. I grab a few of the boutique bags and start stuffing as much as I can into them of random things around the room. I let myself take three bags of clothing and knick-knacks before grabbing my backpack and stuffing it with as much of the tech that I had brought from the bunker as I can fit into it. When I start coughing from the smoke that’s filling the room, I know my time is up and I grab the handles of the bags and dash back out and down the hallway to the yard. I drop my bags beside a growing pile of bins and let my lungs suck in the clean air for a few seconds before turning around and heading back in.
It takes us five more trips to get all the bins that we’re going to get out into the yard before the smoke is too thick for us to chance going back in. The last thing Rex and Lance carry out is Jackson’s body. They carry him over to the big tree in the corner and lay him down on the grass underneath it before coming back to join the rest of us where we’re sprawled out in the yard around the bins and trying to catch our breath from the smoke inhalation.
Everyone keeps sending looks toward Skylar and me but I’m not quite ready to have that conversation yet so I walk over to the old hand pump and get it going to fill the bucket we leave out here. Once it’s filled I set it aside to douse my head completely under the cold water to try and wash away the ugly smell of smoke that’s clinging to me. I wring my hair out and slick it back from my face, then lug the heavy pail of water over to the others so that they can drink or clean up with it and finally go and sit down beside Marsh. I pick up his hand and hold it in mine, taking comfort from the warmth of it. The morphine must have knocked him back out again but I feel a slight tug on my lips when I see that even in sleep, he has that goofy grin on his face that I love so much.
I sit there and watch the fire consume the building we had planned on making our home in and just let the flames hypnotize me into an emotionless state. One by one, everyone comes and settles in a circle around Marsh. Ethan leans over and takes Marsh’s other hand and checks his pulse. Once he’s satisfied with what he finds, he sets his son’s hand gently back onto his stomach and sits back.
Lance coughs a few times to clear his throat, breaking the hypnotic daze I’m in. I glance his way to see him looking at Skylar. She’s got a faraway expression on her face as Ben cuddles against her but she focuses on him when he addresses her.
“Skylar, I think you better explain to us why you think we can go back to the bunker. We were all there when AIRIA counted down her self-destruction. Do you know of another way to get into the bunker? And do we even want to go back there with no power or water?”
Skylar sighs deeply and plants a kiss on Ben’s head then looks around at everyone waiting for her answer.
“AIRIA didn’t self-destruct. We don’t know how she managed to get around the virus Joslin uploaded into her coding but our best guess is she just did a reset to before the General took control of her. She’s up and running.”
Belle leans forward and practically snarls at Skylar. “Do you m
ean to tell us, that all this time, we could have gone back to the bunker and lived safe and comfortable inside of it? How dare you keep this from us?”
I stare at her in surprise. This is new. I’ve never seen this ugly side of Belle before. I look over to Skylar and see the heat building in her eyes and wait for the fireworks to go off but Lance intervenes.
“Belle!” he says sharply, “What are you doing? If Skylar had information about AIRIA and the bunker it’s her information, not ours. She doesn’t owe us anything when it comes to that place!”
His words do nothing to soften Belle’s features or tone. “Like hell she doesn’t! We’re supposed to be a group. We’re supposed to work together and share everything. Isn’t that what you said? Don’t you think we should have been told if we didn’t have to be out here all this time? None of this would have happened, we could have been safe in the bunker if she had just spoken up.”
Skylar laughs but there’s no humor in it. “Oh yeah, we’re a group all right, when it suits you! Tell me Belle, where were you today when there was work to be done? When Lance, Rex and I were out here where the bullets were flying, where were you and your daughter? Were you working as a group to help protect the children? Were you working as a group to help Ethan with Marsh? No! You and your daughter hid in a cupboard while the rest of us risked OUR LIVES to protect yours! Lady, I don’t owe you anything! And I’ll tell you another thing, we might be going back to the bunker but it won’t be permanent. We’ll go back there and spend the winter but come spring, everybody’s out! I don’t give a damn where you and Sasha go but I’m going outside to start rebuilding this world because I won’t spend the rest of my life inside that mountain.”
I turn to look at Belle and Sasha. Sasha hasn’t said a word since we came out here, she’s just staring down into her lap with tears dripping down her face. Belle has the decency to look chastised by Skylar’s words and she seems to realize that she’s overstepped in her demands by her contrite expression. It’s an interesting dynamic that hasn’t really played out before in this group. If these two can’t come to some sort of agreement, it’s going to be a very long winter.
I turn away from them to Lance for his reaction and see him staring at Belle with a look of disappointment on his face before he shakes his head and turns to Skylar to say something to her but then changes his mind and looks at me instead.
“Joslin, you’re the tech guru here so please tell me, are you sure AIRIA is functioning? If we head west back to the bunker, we will be using up precious gas that we can’t spare if for some reason we get there and we can’t get in.”
I shrug a shoulder. “No, I don’t know for sure. We’ll have to dig up the communicator that Skylar buried to check before we go anywhere. Hopefully, it still has a bit of a charge left in the batteries so we can know for sure if AIRIA responds to us or to Skylar. If she reset back to before the General took control of her, then she probably wouldn’t respond to me at all.”
He nods and switches his focus back to Skylar. “Okay, so where did you bury the communicator then?”
Skylar winces and shoots me an apologetic glance before answering him. “It’s buried underneath where you put Jackson.”
Lance looks over his shoulder in that direction with a sad face.
“Um, that was where we were planning on burying Jackson, if that’s okay, Joslin? I thought it would make a nice spot for his resting place.”
I nod my head in agreement. “I think he’d like that. In the sun but shaded by that pretty tree is a lovely spot. If you don’t mind I think I’ll just stay here with Marsh while you guys do that.”
His tone is sympathetic and understanding. “Of course, stay here and we’ll take care of everything. I’ll come and get you when it’s time to say goodbye.”
I don’t reply, just look down at Marsh’s hand in mine. Skylar, Rex, Ethan, and Lance head over to the tree that Jackson is laid out under and Belle and Sasha get up and go to their cabin to start packing up their belongings. Ben and Matty go sit on the swings and talk quietly to each other leaving Marsh and me alone. His hand squeezes in mine alerting me to the fact that he’s woken up and my eyes meet his bright blue ones. They’re a little hazy and cloudy but they’re looking straight at me.
“Who are you saying goodbye to?” he asks in a raspy voice.
He winces in pain when he tries to sit up on his own so I quickly move to support him in a seated position and wonder if I should call Ethan back to give him some more painkillers. He’s still looking at me waiting for an answer but it’s hard for me to say the words out loud so I clear my throat a few times and finally push it out.
“Jackson. I’m saying goodbye to Jackson because he died today.”
Confusion fills his eyes and he turns his head to look around the yard and then zeros in on the main building.
“How long was I out? The building’s on fire!” He turns panicked eyes at me. “What happened Jos? Is everybody else okay?”
I nod my head and rub his back to reassure him that his family and friends are fine. “What’s the last thing you remember?”
His brow furrows in thought. “I want to say something about Yogi Bear but I’m pretty sure that’s not right…There was a trap! I stepped into a trap and… That’s it. That’s the last thing I remember.”
“Okay, well here’s the quick and dirty of it,” I begin. “You stepped into a very nasty bear trap that was put out deliberately to injure us by one of the General’s soldiers. They tracked us here from the growing fields after we drove past them on the way back from getting the stoves. Apparently, they’ve been hiding out in the resort watching us for the past few days. We don’t know how many times they came over the wall before today but we’re guessing that they are responsible for the missing chickens and the fire that took out the generator and the fuel. Jackson and Rex got you back inside the gate and while Ethan was working on patching you up, the soldiers managed to topple at least two of the old trees behind the atrium just outside the fence so they both crashed through the glass ceiling and part way into the building. After that, they attacked us and there was a gun battle out here that Lance, Skylar, and Rex fought. One of the soldiers made it inside but Jackson and him shot it out…killing them both.” I suck in a breath to help keep my tears at bay and go on. “When Skylar checked the atrium, she found that one of them had set a slow burn fire but before she could get to it to put it out it flared up and took hold. We grabbed as much as we could and evacuated to out here.” At his shocked expression I nod slowly. “So yeah, that happened. Oh, and apparently AIRIA is up and functioning too so we’re going to go back to the bunker for the winter. That wraps up the events of the past hour which is roughly how long you’ve been out of it.” I lean back as exhaustion fills me.
He shifts his wounded leg with a grimace and then rubs at his forehead. “Wow, I know I said I was a champion napper but sleeping through all that? I really am!”
A half laugh escapes me. “Sorry buddy, you can’t take all the credit for it. You had a little bit of assistance from your new friend, morphine.”
“Ah, now the Yogi Bear thing makes sense!” The humor drains from his face and he pulls me closer to him. “So, Jackson? I’m so sorry, Jos. I know how much he meant to you. I’m here whenever you want to talk about it but I understand if you’re going to need some time to process it.”
I smile at him in gratitude. “Thank you, Marsh. When I’m ready… Until then you need to focus on healing and getting better. The good news is, going back to the bunker means Ethan will have a proper clinic with an x-ray and everything he needs to speed your recovery.”
His grin slides across his face. “And unlimited hot showers again?”
I shake my head with a laugh. “Yes, and unlimited hot showers again.”
Chapter Twenty-One … Skylar
Before we grab some shovels to start digging Jackson’s grave, the four of us make a circuit around the burning building to look for any signs that it’s spre
ading out to the other structures. The heat from the blaze keeps us well back, but thankfully there’s hardly even a breeze today so it shouldn’t spread too far within the camp. The biggest concern after that is it spreading to the forest itself. The two huge trees the soldiers toppled onto the building, which also took down a good portion of the fence, are leaning against the atrium side of the building giving the fire a straight path of fuel toward the forest. After talking it over we decide we can’t let that happen if at all possible. So instead of grabbing the shovels to start digging, we grab the two chainsaws that we had brought over from the resort and use some of our precious gas to fill them up. The best we’re going to be able to do is cut the two trees and part of the log fence on either side of the building and pull it all away from the fire.
It’s back-breaking work in the heat from the sun and the fires, plus the smoke clings to everything and fills our lungs. It takes two long miserable hours to get the debris cut down to manageable sizes before Lance can bring the tractor around the outside of the fence with the plow attachment on it to dig a trench between where the fence once was and where the tree line begins. It’s all we can manage with the equipment and manpower that we have.
The four of us are filthy, completely exhausted and worn right out from a day that never seems to end coupled with the previous night’s lack of sleep due to the generator and gas fire. All I want to do is throw myself down on the grass and sleep for a few hours but we still need to dig Jackson’s grave and retrieve my buried communicator. I know if I stop now I’m not going to get started again so I just swap out the chainsaw for a shovel and head toward the old tree in the corner.
I look over at the playground where I last saw Ben and Matty playing and I’m relieved to see Joslin has them both seated at one of the picnic tables with some food. Not that long ago, I was the only person in Ben’s life who could take care of him so I’m grateful for the people around me, even Belle and Sasha, at odds or not.
Endless Winter Box Set: Books 1 - 4 Page 67