by Dawn, M. K.
Sloan barked out an unintentional laugh, taken off guard by Britney’s blunt statement. “Would you care to elaborate?”
Britney scrunched her nose. “I would? Want to try not to interrupt?”
“Sorry.” Sloan did her best to keep a straight face. “Please, continue.”
“Axel,” Britney huffed, “you explain.”
He patted Brit’s knee. “Sure. The thing is, this place, as safe as it is, is not the sort of place we want to raise the kids. There’s no school. And the kids are required to work, which would be fine, but that’s all they’re allowed to do. There’s no laughter or fun or anything. And that goes for us, too. It’s up at seven and lights out by nine. We’re not allowed to speak above a whisper. Or allowed to talk when outdoors. The kids want to run around and be kids. We want to enjoy life. So, that being said, we think it’s time to move on.”
Sloan had noticed all the same things and struggled with most of them as well. “I agree, but do you think this is the best time to leave? Mid-winter?”
“The infested, though still out there, are not as deadly when it’s cold,” Axel said.
Archer clicked his tongue. “That used to be the case, but I’m not so sure about that now. What happened at the cabin—”
“Could have been a fluke,” Britney suggested. “Or just that group of infested. Or maybe the temperature wasn’t as cold as we thought or those had adapted. The thing is, we’ve seen less infested during the winter. If we wait ‘til spring, it’ll only be worse.”
“We’re heading to California, sugar.” Angie sighed. “It’s bound to get worse the closer we get to the coast.”
Britney shot her a pointed look. “Even more so in the spring and summer.”
“I’m not arguing with you. I’m all in for getting the hell out of this sweatshop as soon as heavenly possible.”
Axel glanced between Sloan and Archer. “What do you two think? Do you want to stay here or leave?”
Britney scooted forward and took Sloan’s hands. “You have to come with us. After everything we’ve been through, how we found each other again. I don’t want to leave without you. But the kids can’t grow up here. They’ve already lost so much of their childhood. I can’t bear to see the rest stripped away.”
Sloan squeezed her sister’s hands. “I don’t like this place any more than you do. Yes, we are safe and well fed. But I agree that life is more than that. My fear is what we will face on the road ahead. There are risks in leaving. We don’t even have a vehicle.”
“We do,” Archer said. “The Humvee is here and running again.”
This was the first time Sloan had heard of this. “What? How?”
“I had mentioned that we had additional supplies in our broken-down vehicles. The day I went beyond the gates with Kat and her group, we stopped by. Her mechanic brought spark plugs and it started right up.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Axel asked.
Sloan’s eyes fell on her significant other. “You don’t want to leave.”
Archer met her gaze. “No, but you all are my family, and if leaving is something you want to do, then that is what we will do.”
“Do you think Kat will let us have the Humvee back?” Britney asked.
“I can ask.” Archer’s eyes drifted out of the room. “We’ll also need supplies. I’m not sure how that will go over. Let me make one thing clear, I will not, under any circumstance, hurt these people or screw them over. They have been nothing but generous to us.”
Britney’s jaw clenched. “No one said anything about hurting them, but—”
“No buts,” Archer shot back.
“Listen…” Britney jumped to her feet. “I get where you’re coming from but no one is going to tell me I can’t leave and if they do anything to get in our way…”
Axel took her hand in his. “Brit, you’re jumping to conclusions. We haven’t even talked to Kat yet.”
“We’ve spent the last month doing shit work for them. You think they’re going to be okay with their work-horses up and leaving?”
“Brit,” Sloan raised her voice just a little, “everyone here has a job. From what I’ve seen, none are too pleasant. Maybe we should give these people the benefit of the doubt?”
Britney threw up her hands. “Fine. Archer can talk to Kat and see what she says. But I’m tellin’ you now, the kids and I are leavin’ whether we get permission or not.”
Sloan stood and adjusted her shirt. At this point, there was no point arguing with Britney. “We’ll speak with her at dinner.”
“Thank you.” Britney stormed out of the room.
Angie followed close behind with a shake of her head.
Axel slowly rose to his feet. “Sorry, she’s been a bit on edge. The kids are complaining a lot, and we’re all exhausted.”
“We’re all on edge.” Archer moved for the door. “But that doesn’t mean Brit can put our group in danger.”
“She’s not,” Axel rattled off. “Or, at least, that’s not what she’s trying to do. She wants what’s best for her kids, that’s all. I don’t think that’s too much to ask.”
Sloan’s built-up irritation faded. “It’s not and we’ll do what we can to make our leave as amicable as possible.”
“Thank you.” Axel headed for the door. “See you both at dinner?”
Sloan smiled. “Yes. We’ll be right behind you.”
Archer waited until Axel was down the hall to address the situation. “Do you really think this is a good idea?’
“Do we have a choice?”
“Um, yeah. We could stay.”
Sloan met his eyes. “Is that what you want?”
“I don’t know.” Archer leaned against the wall. “It's nice to feel safe and not have to look over our shoulders every second.”
“But…” Sloan knew there was more he wanted to say on the matter.
Archer sighed and pulled Sloan in his arms. “This place and their rules...it sucks. It's like they’re just going through the motions but not really living. I don’t want that. Not for myself. Not for my family. Especially not for the kids.”
“Okay. Which means…” Sloan thought she knew where he was going with this but wanted clarification.
Archer kissed her forehead. “We should leave, Slash. If that’s what you also want to do.”
“Want? Not really. But I believe it’s the right thing for us in the long run.” She gave him a tight squeeze before moving out of his arms. “How do you think Kat’s going to react?”
“I don’t. Guess we won’t know until we ask.”
***
“So, this is like a monthly occurrence?” Archer asked as they took a seat in the dining hall after their dinner chores.
Sloan leaned in so as not to be overheard by the others who filtered into the large room. “That’s what Kat said.”
“Why haven’t we heard of it before?”
She shrugged. The night before at dinner when Sloan attempted to approach Kat to discuss their departure plans, Kat had dismissed her, stating that all requests should be asked during their monthly community meetings. “I assume because we’ve only been here just shy of a month.”
“Convenient.” Archer’s eyes swept over the room. “Though to be fair, no one seems surprised to be here so maybe we just got lucky.”
Sloan never took much stock in luck. “I’m not sure how comfortable I feel breaching this delicate subject in front of the entire group.”
“It’s not like Kat gave us much of a choice.” Archer stretched his legs out long and crossed his feet at the ankle. “Got any idea what you’re going to say?”
All day, she’d gone over possible ways to approach the situation without sounding ungrateful for their hospitality. “I’m not exactly sure.”
“Sure about what?” Axel took a seat next to Sloan, Britney next to him. “We’re still planning on letting Kat know where leaving, right?”
“Yes.” Sloan feigned a smile. Britney and Axel—on Britney�
��s behalf, no doubt—had both harassed her about endlessly over the matter. “As I was telling Archer, I’m trying to figure out how to word our request.”
“Well, first of all,” Britney crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t make it sound like a request.”
Sloan pressed her lips together before speaking. “You are more than welcome to address the board.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Archer cleared his throat as Britney glared at him. “I mean…you’re emotional on the subject and Slash is much better at articulating these sorts of things.”
Sloan patted him on the knee. “Please, stop trying to help.”
“Care to clarify?” The anger in Britney’s voice did not go unnoticed.
“Is that really necessary?” Sloan’s eyes drifted to the front of the room where the board took their seats. “I promised that I would speak on our behalf and that’s exactly what I intend to do.” When the correct time presented itself, a statement Sloan kept to herself.
“Let’s get started,” Kat’s voice silenced the group. Not that they were loud. Nothing over a whisper was tolerated in the dining hall or any other room that had windows. Apparently, the board were the exception to the rule. “What order of business do we need to talk about today?”
Dr. Williams shuffled a few papers. “Medical will start.”
Axel leaned across Sloan to speak to Archer, “Did we sound that douchey when we held our meetings?”
Archer snorted. “Not a chance.”
Sloan shot both Archer and Axel a pointed look. Respect ranked high on this communities list and speaking while the board spoke was frowned upon.
“To conclude,” Dr. William said, “our supplies are depleting at an unacceptable rate. We’ll need to make plans to obtain more supplies by month’s end.”
A twinge of guilt knotted Sloan’s stomach. There was no doubt in her mind that the reason their medical supplies had dropped so dramatically was due to their arrival. After weeks of living off rationed food and water, not to mention the beating they all took when they escaped the infested, they had all needed their share of medical attention.
“Thanks, Deion.” Kat nodded at Dr. Williams. “Who’s next.”
The remaining three people on the board each took a turn discussing their various issues. Most, though never said directly, were caused by their presence.
“See,” Britney whispered once the final person finished, “we’re causing them nothing but trouble. They’re probably anxious to get rid of us.”
Use up all their supplies and leave? Sloan wasn’t sure how well that would go over.
“All right,” Kat flipped the page of her notebook, “before we get to the solution portion of the evening, I would like to open the floor to any persons in our community that have something they need or just overall concerns. As I say every month, there is no judgement here. Don’t be shy. Step forward and speak what’s on your mind.”
Britney snapped her head at Sloan and raised an eyebrow.
Sloan wanted to see if anyone else would speak up first as to gauge the board’s response to request. No one did.
“Dr. Sloan,” Kat leaned back in her chair, “you wanted to have a little chat last night over dinner, didn’t ya? Come forward and say what’s on your mind.”
“Of course.” Sloan stood and fiddled with the hem of her t-shirt as she made her way in front of the board. “Good evening to you all.”
Kat waved a dismissive hand. “You can skip the formalities. What do you need?”
“We need nothing but do have a request.”
“Spit it out? We don’t got all night.”
Sloan swallowed hard. She had no idea why this was so difficult. “As grateful as we are for your hospitality, it’s time our group moved on.”
Kat planted her elbows on the table and laced her fingers. “Move on? As in you want to leave?”
“Yes. And we’d like our truck back, as well.”
Behind her, whispers of conversations picked up. From her position, there was no way to tell if people were angry or relieved.”
“Well now,” Kat glanced at her fellow board members, “I wish I could say this was an unusual request...but we know our little community here is not for everybody.”
Sloan kept her face neutral, but inside, her heart raced. That was not the response she expected. “And not all of us wish to leave. Sam and Maria wish to stay.”
Kat jotted down a few notes. “Very well.”
“Does that mean our request is granted?”
Kat chuckled and coughed, a smoker's cough, Sloan had learned. They had taken up growing tobacco in one of their many greenhouses. “You’re not our prisoners, and the truck is not ours to keep. In a world full of savages, we must rise above and keep our humanity.”
It was the most poetic thing Sloan had ever heard come from Kat. “Thank you. Again, we appreciate everything your community has done for us. You’ve saved our lives, in more ways than one.” Sloan started back for her seat.
“Wait,” Kat beckoned her back. “Before you leave, we do require payment for your stay. Yes, we are well aware that you have all pitched in where needed, but as you heard earlier, a lot of our supplies have been depleted to the point of being scarce.”
“What would you have us do to rectify the burden we’ve placed on your community?” Sloan asked the question with the answer already blatantly clear.
“In two days, we’re heading out on a supply run. Axel and Archer will accompany us to help not only hunt but gather supplies. Does that seem fair?”
Sloan glanced over her shoulder, uncomfortable with answering for the two men.
Both nodded in agreement.
“Great!” Kat clapped her hands together. “Is there anything else, Dr. Sloan?”
“No.”
Kat tapped her pencil on the notepad. “Okay. Have a seat. Anyone else?”
All responded with a shake of the head.
“Meeting adjourned. Tomorrow after breakfast, those who have been selected to go on the supply run will meet. Dismissed.”
The room cleared out quickly.
Britney had the decency to wait until they were out of earshot before speaking. “Really? A supply run? We do just as much as everyone around here. How is that not payment enough?”
Sloan moved in front of her sister and stopped. “Enough, Brit. These people saved our lives, took us in, and gave us everything we needed and then some. None of it, they had to do. The least we can do is go on a supply run and replenish some of the goods they’ve provided us.”
“But—”
“No.” As the younger of the two, Sloan rarely spoke to Britney in such a way. “Axel and Archer agreed to go on the supply run, and that’s what they will do. When they return, we will leave. Is that understood?”
“Whatever you say.” Britney stormed off in the direction of their cell block.
Sloan ran her fingers across her tired eyes. “I hadn’t meant to be so hard on her but I fear if she keeps this up, she’ll do something to upset these people and make life more difficult for all of us.”
Axel sighed. “With her anxiety and PTSD, she has all these crazy thoughts going on in her head. Fears, really. It’s always the worst-case scenario with her.”
“Which is understandable, but she must learn to overcome these toxic thoughts or they’re going to ruin not only her life but that of everyone around her.”
Archer scratched at the scruff on his chin. “What’s she worried about? Besides the infested?”
“I don’t know.” Axel kicked his foot around. “She said something about this being a setup and that they’re going to turn on us when we get out there.”
Sloan wanted to feel sympathetic for her sister, but that kind of thinking could get them all killed. “These people have given us no reason to doubt their integrity. I know we’ve had issues with trust before, but we have to learn to give people a chance. We can’t survive in this world without allies.”
“And I’ll be here for her,” Sloan promised. “We should get some rest.”
“Thanks.” Axel patted her shoulder before breaking into a jog after Britney.
Archer and Sloan took their time heading back to their bunks. Not much was said between the two. At this point, there was nothing to say. Could they leave without going on the supply run? Perhaps? Was that the right thing to do? Sloan didn’t think so.
These people paid them a kindness, a rarity in this day and age. The least they could do was repay that kindness.
She just hoped that her instincts were correct and that these people were ones who could be trusted.
They couldn’t lose any more of their people. Not only could Britney not handle it but neither could her children or Sloan, for that matter. Archer’s love meant everything to her.
To lose him...well, she couldn’t imagine the pain.
Chapter nine
Axel
Axel turned the key of the Humvee and grinned. “Purring like a kitten.”
“A kitten?” Archer shook his head. “More like a lion. Damn, I don’t remember this thing being so loud before.”
“That’s because we’ve spent the past four weeks not hearing anything above a whisper.”
“It is nice to talk in a normal voice again.” Archer laced his fingers behind his head. “How’d Britney take your leaving this morning?”
“As well as could be expected.” Axel maneuvered the truck out of the makeshift garage and followed the lead vehicle beyond the fence. “She didn’t cry, which was a plus, but she didn’t look thrilled, either. Kept mumbling under her breath how stupid this all was.”
Archer chuckled. “Wish she would just let it go already.”
“You and me both, brother.” Axel trailed the beat-up old farm truck down the overgrown paved road. “I hope one day, when we get settled, she'll start to feel like her old self again.”