The Dead Flash Series | Book 2 | Rebuilding

by Crist, J. D.

  "How old is she?" the red-headed woman finally spoke.

  "Just over four months," Emily replied. "She was born inside the wall."

  Emily watched as they all looked at each other. Emily wanted to start telling her story, of explaining everything to them but forced herself to wait. Emily knew that saying too much too soon would put too much pressure on them. Instead, Emily walked to her chair at the head of the table and sat with Hope. Shawn had followed her into the room and now stood silently behind her.

  "You have a beautiful daughter," Ben spoke, looking at Shawn.

  "I'm not her father," Shawn replied. Emily could hear in his voice how much this statement hurt him. She knew he loved Hope as if he were her father.

  "Her father was my husband before the flash," Emily explained. "But those who live here are our family now."

  "Did you guys build this place?" the Hispanic man asked.

  "No, I found it Christmas last year," Emily began. "It was built by a man named Robert."

  "Is Robert here," the man asked.

  "No, he killed himself before I arrived," Emily explained. "He had plans to make this place a community safe from the virus."

  "So, he prepared this place before the flash?" the red-headed woman asked. "How could he know this was going to happen?"

  "He was part of the team who was tricked into creating it," Emily explained. "I have Robert's journal where he explains what happened. I can loan it to anyone who would like to read it."

  "I would if you don't mind," the priest spoke. Emily nodded and planned to grab it once they were finished.

  "So, you and your group found this place, and now you are just welcoming people in?" the darker-skinned woman asked. Emily felt like she may have been of pacific descent.

  "I found it when I was pregnant." Marley looked up at her from the floor. "Well, me and my dog Marley. We lived here alone until March. I went into labor just as Shawn and his group arrived. Doc saved my life and delivered Hope. They were the first people I agreed to let stay, and they became our family."

  "I understand you all have a lot of questions, but if it's not too much trouble, I have one of my own. Other than Margaret and Ben, I haven't heard any of your names."

  "I'm Cara, and this is my son Aiden," the red-headed woman spoke.

  "I'm Isabella, my husband Jose, and our son Martin," the Hispanic woman spoke next.

  "Aleki, my wife Samara, and our daughters Natalia and Talia," the dark-skinned man spoke next.

  "I'm Father Nathan," the priest spoke.

  "It's a pleasure to meet you all," Emily smiled.

  "You are the leader. Is that correct?" Jose asked.

  "Yes," Emily smiled. "The first group decided I would lead as I found this place and cleared it."

  "No offense," Aleki spoke, "But are you strong enough to lead? Especially since you plan for this place to grow. I mean, are we all expected to protect you if someone attacks?"

  "I am capable of protecting myself," Emily replied.

  "I can introduce you to our construction guy if you need to see for yourself," Shawn laughed. "Marley gave him a bite he won't forget, and she broke his nose. The guy didn't get one shot in."

  "A mother protecting her child's home is stronger and tougher than an army of men," Ben stated. No one seemed willing to argue this with him.

  "Do we get to choose if we stay or not?" Cara asked.

  "Of course," Emily replied. "You are not prisoners. You are welcome to stay the night and take your time deciding. If you choose this is not for you, that is fine. We will give you some supplies and let you go on your way."

  "You have given us a lot to think about," Ben smiled.

  "I understand," Emily replied. "I will get the journal and leave you all to talk. I will be around if you have any questions."

  With that, Emily carried Hope into the study and grabbed Robert's journal. She returned to the dining room long enough to give Father Nathan the journal and inform them that the children were welcome to watch the television if they wanted.

  Emily then headed to the kitchen to make Hope lunch. Hope quickly ate and began rubbing her eyes. Emily knew that Hope was ready for her nap. Emily carried her upstairs and laid her down as Marley took his position under the crib. Emily left the room, closing the door behind.

  "You trust these people enough to leave her alone?" Shawn's voice made her jump with fear.

  "I trust them as much as I trust all of you that first day," Emily smiled. She watched as Shawn smiled back at her. "And what do you mean alone? Marley is in there."

  "She might as well have a tank guarding her as she sleeps," Shawn laughed.

  Emily began to walk past him, but Shawn put his arm out to stop her.

  "I just wanted to make sure you know that I'm staying here tonight."

  "I figured that," Emily replied resisting the urge to look at him.

  "I just thought I should have asked if that's okay. With everything going on between."

  "Of course, it's okay," Emily replied, still not looking at him. "Especially with Hope here, it would make me feel safer."

  Shawn lowered his arm, and Emily made her way downstairs. She could hear Shawn following her down. Emily quickly made her way to the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

  Emily sat on the edge of the tub and dropped her head into her hands. She knew what Shawn was talking about upstairs. He was talking about what was going on between the two of them. The almost romance that she didn't know how to tell him would never happen. It wasn't that she didn't care about him or that she didn't want to see what their feelings could grow into one day.

  Emily did care for Shawn but couldn't get her dream out of her mind. She couldn't imagine her life without him but didn't see how to end her marriage vows. Even though Chad wasn't here, he still had control over her life. Emily sat for a long time, trying to push her feelings back down and figure out how to tell Shawn.

  "Emily?" Julia's voice called out from the other side of the door. "Emily, is everything all right?"

  Emily forced herself to stand and put on her brave face. She opened the door to see Julia standing there with a worried look.

  "Sorry." Emily tried not to let the turmoil she felt inside show in her voice. "I just needed a moment to gather my thoughts."

  "Shawn says you've been in there for almost two hours." Julia knew that Emily was dealing with more than she was saying. "He got Hope up and radioed asking for help with dinner for the new group."

  "Has it been that long?" Emily truly didn't realize how much time had passed.

  "I only came because Marley is starting to get irritated. It's almost like he believes the new group did something to you."

  "I'm sorry." Emily started to move to walk out the door, but Julia did not move.

  "If you need to talk, I'm always here," Julia offered.

  "I know, but I don't think you can help with this." Emily couldn't help but sound ashamed.

  "Try me." Julia used her mom told as she spoke.

  "I'm sorry, Julia. Unless you know a way to release wedding vows in a world where divorce isn't a thing, you can't help."

  Emily pushed her way past Julia, and Marley ran towards her. Emily reached down and ran her hand over his fur. She watched as he visibly relaxed. Emily could hear the sounds of people in the kitchen. From the sounds of it, everyone had answered the call for help with dinner. Emily started to walk towards the kitchen as Hope crawled out the doorway. Emily instead sat on the floor and allowed Hope to crawl towards her. Emily decided to let the others handle dinner for now and take this time with Hope. Marley laid on the ground with them and allowed Hope to crawl on him, happy to be part of the game.

  Emily could see that Shawn had followed Hope into the room, but she resisted the urge to look up at him. Shawn stood watching them play for a while and then went back into the kitchen. Emily knew that he was probably confused by how she was acting. But she didn't have the strength to deal with that right now.

  "
Dinners ready," Bobby chimed as he entered the living room.

  "We are on our way," Emily replied with a smile.

  Emily picked up Hope and headed towards the dining room. The dining room was packed with many people standing.

  "We won't be staying," Howard spoke. "We just wanted a chance to introduce ourselves and tell them what it's like here." With that, everyone from the original group left except for Shawn, and Emily took her seat at the table.

  "Let's eat," Emily smiled at everyone.

  Chapter 5

  Emily woke the following day and looked in the bassinet next to her bed. Hope was still asleep, but she knew the little one would be up soon. Emily laid back on her pillow and stared up at the ceiling. She had headed straight to bed when everyone started to wind down for the night. She had pulled the bassinet into the room to keep Hope close.

  She could tell that Shawn had wanted to talk to her, but she managed to avoid it. She was not ready for that conversation yet. For now, her focus needed to be on the new group and Hope. She had managed to grab the town ledgers before she went to bed and had already picked out houses for the new group if they decided to stay. She also picked out a spot where a church could be built if the priest wanted to stay. He would still need to take on some other role to help out. Emily thought that having a church and a priest may help some people to cope with the world. She wouldn't force religion on anyone but thought it reasonable to give them a choice.

  Hope began to stir next to her, and Emily knew she had to get up. Emily tossed back the blankets and sat up in the bed. She looked down at Hope and smiled. Emily quickly made her way to the bathroom and then got dressed for the day. She grabbed Hope and proceeded to get her ready for the day as well. As Emily finished, Marley jumped down from the bed and walked towards the door. Emily opened the door and could not help but smile as she saw Shawn sitting against the wall asleep.

  Emily stood for a moment just looking at him. She thought back to the day on the couch and holding his hand in the truck. Emily pushed the thoughts from her head as Shawn started to stir.

  "Did you sleep here all night?" Emily asked as he looked up at her.

  "Yeah," Shawn replied as he began to stand up.

  "Next time, you should at least take the couch," Emily laughed.

  "The priest took the couch. Didn't want to know the cosmic consequences of kicking a man of the cloth to the floor."

  "Well, I better get breakfast ready before I get to know the consequences."

  Emily laughed as she headed downstairs. She prepared a bottle for Hope and fed her. She then let Marley outside and set to making enough eggs and toast for everyone. A few minutes later, Shawn came into the kitchen, made coffee, and put the dishes in the dining room. Slowly, everyone emerged, and Emily had plenty of hands to help carry everything to the dining room.

  Everyone sat down, and Emily could see that everyone was visibly more relaxed today. She enjoyed watching them all and could not help but choose to believe that everyone would stay. Once breakfast was finished, Emily stood to begin clearing the table.

  "We got it," Cara spoke as they all stood and began clearing the table.

  "Shawn, could you please get my books from my room? I think it's about time."

  Shawn nodded and headed upstairs. Emily felt lazy as she watched the group clearing away breakfast. Shawn returned just as they were finishing, and everyone gathered around the table. Emily could tell from the looks on their faces that they were ready to talk.

  "I get the feeling you all have made a decision," Emily said with a smile.

  "We all want to stay," Ben spoke. "We are just wondering what happens now."

  "Well, I will just need to get an idea of what each of you did before the flash and see where you would be most helpful."

  "That's what we are a little worried about," Ben grabbed Margaret's hand as he spoke.

  "Margaret has a hard time standing, and I'm afraid that she wouldn't be able to be useful."

  "I disagree," Emily smiled.

  She had been thinking about this, knowing that Margaret would need a job where she would be sitting.

  "I spoke with Sarah, head of our communications. She says she needs someone to help monitor the radios during the day. Do you think that is something you could do?" Emily could see the smile spreading on Margaret's face.

  "Yes, yes," Margaret replied. "I could do that."

  Emily made her way around the table, listening to everyone and assigning them jobs as she went. When she finished, it was decided that Ben and Father Nathan would be helping on the farm, Jose and Martin with construction, Isabella would be working with Doc, Cara and Samara would be helping with retail, and Aleki would be working under Sam for security.

  Emily passed around the census ledger and watched as everyone signed their name. Once they finished, Emily was ready to show them each to their new homes.

  "I have homes picked out for each of you if you're ready?" Emily smiled at them.

  Emily could see the joy on their faces as they all began to stand. Emily turned to pick up Hope but saw that Shawn had beat her to it. Shawn smiled at her as he held the baby, and Hope seemed happy with the arrangement. Emily led the group outside and decided to take Ben and Margaret to their home first, so Margaret didn't have to walk as far.

  Emily turned left once they reached the street. She wanted to keep everyone close together but also had to keep an eye on house size. Marley and Shawn walked beside her as she slowly made her way to the first house.

  "I think this one will work nicely for Ben and Margaret." Emily motioned to the house. "All of the basics should be inside, and Jessica will help you with anything you may be missing. She will also have your credit cards later this afternoon, and Shawn will let you know your shift schedule for the wall."

  "This is more than we ever dreamed we could have again," Margaret said with tears in her eyes. "We will take a quick look and then report for work."

  "You don't need to start work until tomorrow," Emily stated. "I want you all to take today and get settled."

  Emily watched as Ben helped Margaret into the house. Emily then led the other families to their new homes and showed Father Nathan to his apartment. Emily left an empty apartment between Father Nathan and Derick.

  "Derick can be a handful, but if you have any trouble, just let me know."

  "Is he the gentleman that attacked you?" Father Nathan asked.

  "He tried," Emily smiled. Emily turned to follow Shawn back downstairs and allow the Father to settle in.

  "I did have a question," Father Nathan called after her.

  "Of course." Emily turned back and walked back to Father Nathan.

  "I accept my job on the farm, but I was wondering if it would be possible for me to run services in here for those who wish to attend."

  "I planned to talk to you about that but wanted to give you a chance to settle. I have plans to talk to the construction crew about either converting a building to a church or the possibility of building a new structure."

  "If it's okay with you, I could do a service on the street until something can be decided."

  "I don't see any problem with that. If you let me know when, I will help spread the word for those who would like to attend."

  "Thank you." Father Nathan smiled as he entered his apartment.

  Emily turned and caught up with Shawn and Hope. Emily followed them downstairs, and soon they were back outside.

  "I've got to head to a shift on the wall, and I have to work on the shift schedules." Shawn turned and handed Hope to Emily.

  "I wanted to apologize for yesterday," Emily began.

  "There's no need for that," Shawn smiled.

  "You have a lot to deal with, and I get it."

  With that, Shawn turned and headed to the security room for his rifle. Emily turned and headed back towards her house. She was glad that Shawn wasn't upset with her and felt a knot in her stomach from not addressing her feelings.

  Emily was neari
ng the house when Marley suddenly turned and started running back up the street. Emily turned to see June and Howard walking towards her.

  "Do you have a moment?" June called to her.

  "Of course, I do," Emily replied.

  "We were all talking, and Bobby gave us an idea. You have been saying that we are all a family and we would like to have a family dinner with our newcomers. It would give us a chance to get to know them and give everyone a chance to relax and let loose," June explained.