“Okay.”
Michael, who’d been occupied closing the gate, walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. “You’re sure you’re fine?”
She gulped. “I’m sure. Scared shitless.”
Michael grinned, once more surprising Max. “You scared? I wouldn’t bet on it.”
She smiled and sidled closer to Michael, letting him take the knife from her hand and drape his jacket over her shoulders. Max watched in growing confusion. What’s going on here?
“Did your grandmother send you?” Michael asked.
“Yes, I have important news.”
“So important you had to run here alone in the middle of the night armed with a steak knife? You could’ve died, Mpho.”
She ducked her head. “I know, but this is important.”
“Can it wait?” Max asked.
She looked at him with furrowed brows. “Wait?”
“I mean, can we get you inside and looked after first?” he added and pointed at her feet. “You’re hurt.”
She looked down at her naked legs and bleeding soles with seeming surprise. “Of course.”
“Why don’t you get her inside, Michael? The kitchen lights were on, so I think Elise is up. I’ll be along as soon as I get someone to take over the watch.”
Max watched Michael hustle the girl away while shaking his head in wonder. “I’ve never seen him so worked up about anyone.”
He got back onto the wall and stared in the direction of the outside gates. With the coming of dawn, the birds had awoken and called their morning song into the chill air. The first streaks of pink and yellow announced the rising sun. He sighed, wondering what the new day would bring. “Where are you, Kirstin? What happened to you? Something’s wrong. I know it, and this girl…whatever it is, it can’t be good.”
He walked a short patrol while clearing his mind before getting down and going in search of a replacement. He was met by Liezel carrying her long range rifle and binoculars.
“Hi, Liezel. You ready to take over?”
“I am.” She smiled, and he was relieved to note she seemed fresh and bright-eyed.
“Got enough sleep? Had breakfast?” he asked.
“Yes, and yes.” She punched him on the arm.”Run along, Max. I’ll manage. If anyone needs more sleep, it’s you.”
“Yeah, okay.” He grinned in response.
“At least you clean up well,” she called over her shoulder as she ascended the ladder. “Keep it up.”
With a chuckle, Max made his way to the kitchen where he found a warmly dressed Mpho drinking soup and tea while a worried Elise clucked around her like a mother hen.
“Just look at those feet. My goodness. You’ll need to see Jonathan,” she exclaimed.
“Thank you, ma’am, but I assure you I’m fine.”
“Such beautiful manners. Your mother taught you well, young one.”
“My grandmother actually. My mother died when I was young.”
“Oh, you poor thing. Let me see if I can find you something more substantial to eat. You’re so thin!”
Elise bustled away despite Mpho’s protestations that she was okay. Max shook his head and took a seat across from her. “Don’t bother. She needs someone to mother. It’s in her nature.”
Michael nodded. “Now tell us your story, Mpho. What happened?”
She placed her cup down on the table with a sober expression. “Kabelo returned last night.”
Max sat back in his chair with shocked surprise. “Kabelo? So the little shit made it. Lisa won’t be happy to hear that.”
“She will not,” Michael agreed.
“Well, he got back in one piece and told Ke Tau everything about you,” Mpho said.
“I’m not surprised,” Max replied.
“That’s not the reason you’re here, though,” Michael said. “It can’t be.”
Mpho shook her head. “No, you’re right. Kabelo’s appearance reminded him how much he hates you, how much your presence here mocks him. He…he told Hiran to get ready.”
Max stared at the scarred wood of the tabletop beneath his hands and took a deep breath. A feeling of foreboding washed over him, and he didn’t want to hear Mpho’s next words. He forced himself to ask, “Ready for what?”
“They’re attacking here, tonight.”
The world spun around Max as her news sunk in. It was as bad as it could get. No, worse.
Michael stared at Max with flat eyes, though a flicker of worry crossed his face. “You’re sure of this, Mpho?”
“I’m sure. That’s why I had to come. I had to warn you.” Her hands folded into fists. “Ke Tau cannot win. We cannot let him.”
Max raised his head. “Thank you for taking such a risk to warn us. I’m indebted to you. We all are.”
“It’s my duty.”
“Even so, after today, we might owe you everything.” Max sighed and looked at Michael. “This couldn’t come at a worse time.”
Right then, Elise returned with a small bowl of chopped carrots fresh from the garden. “Here you go, dear. Eat this.”
“Thank you, Ma’am.”
Elise paused when she noticed the miserable expressions on all their faces. “What’s wrong?”
“I’ll fill you in over breakfast, Elise. In fact, I’ll need to see the whole camp, even the guards.” He pushed back his chair and stood up. “I’ll gather everyone up and have them assemble here in an hour.”
“Is it that bad?” Worry washed over Elise’s face, and a hand fluttered at her throat. “What about the children? We can’t alarm them.”
Max paused. “You’re right. I’ll ask Michelle to keep them busy in the schoolroom while we meet. Someone can fill her in later. I don’t believe she’ll be capable of fighting anyway.”
“Fighting? Has it come to that now?” Elise asked.
“It has.”
“Well, I imagine we’ll need our energy, so I’ll see what I can scrounge up for breakfast. We could all use a solid meal, even if it’s the last.”
Max looked at her and felt gratitude well up inside him. No matter what, she was always there for him. No, for everyone. “Thank you, Elise. You don’t know how much your help means to me.”
She reached over and squeezed his hand. “We’re family, Max.”
With those parting words, she rushed away, and Max turned to Michael. “Can you take Mpho to the infirmary? Have Jonathan treat her feet and meet back here?”
“No problem.” Michael placed a protective arm around Mpho’s shoulders. “See you soon. We need to plan.”
“That we do,” Max affirmed. He left the dining area with a heavy heart and went about the task of assembling the entire camp. As he walked, one thought repeated itself over and over. The next twenty-four hours will decide all our fates. Good or bad.
Chapter 18 - Lisa
Lisa worked with silent concentration, doing precisely as Jonathan had shown her. It was an ugly job, but she wanted to help, and the doctor already had his hands full. Not only did he have to run the infirmary and look after the camp’s sick people, but he also had to take his turn on the wall, short-handed as they were with people out repairing fences.
Lonny, Ruby’s brother, lay as still as a statue. His skin looked waxen, and his breathing was shallow. She’d given him the most potent dosage of pain medicine allowed, and now he slept. A good thing too because she needed to clean his various wounds, a painful process.
She started with the worst one. The third-degree burn inflicted by Carlito to the boy’s right thigh. The tender flesh had been seared away by a naked flame and was at serious risk of infection.
Lisa peeled away the saline dressing that had been allowed to dry, and a layer of dead tissue came away with it. Jonathan called it mechanical debridement. She called it torture. It was for that reason she’d sent Ruby away with Julianne.
For now, the young girl would be placed under Michelle’s care with the other children. While not exactly a child, she was grieving both for
her father and her brother and would be better off with the gentle Michelle and the other kids.
Lonny mumbled under his breath and cried aloud. Lisa froze while she waited for him to calm down. Once he settled, she pulled further on the dressing and worked it free of the skin. The wound was an open sore, red, raw, and weeping. She dressed it as Jonathan had taught her, breathing more easily once it was covered. “There, that’s better.”
She moved onward, disinfecting the cuts Ke Tau and his men had inflicted with their blades and smoothing cream over the purple bruises that discolored his face. His eyes were swollen shut, and she placed a cold compress on his forehead.
Bandages had been wrapped around his torso. Jonathan was sure he had a few cracked and broken ribs. The last hurt she addressed was his left hand. Every single nail had been yanked out with pliers, leaving the tips exposed and glistening.
“You poor boy. I’m so glad I got there in time.” She bit her lower lip when she realized he likely wouldn’t see it that way. In time for what? To prevent further damage? Death?
The hard knot of rage that Lisa carried around in her breast on a permanent basis grew more prominent when she thought of his pain. Ruby’s pain. My pain. “As long as men like Ke Tau walk the earth, there will be no peace.”
“Agreed,” the rumble of Michael’s voice intoned from the entrance.
Lisa turned and saw him supporting the fragile form of a young woman. “Who’s this?”
“This is Mpho, the girl I told you about earlier. Rebecca’s granddaughter.” He looked down at the girl in question and frowned. “She’s hurt. Where’s Jonathan?”
“He’s on guard duty, but I’ll see if I can help.”
“Please.” Michael helped Mpho onto a bed and pointed at her feet. “There.”
Lisa examined Mpho’s swollen and cut feet and clucked while she cleaned them. “What did you do? This must hurt a bunch.”
“It’s not so bad,” Mpho demurred.
“She came to warn us,” Michael said.
Lisa glanced up at him. “Oh? Do tell.”
He relayed the story in simple terms, and Lisa’s eyes narrowed when he got to the bit about Kabelo.
“Kabelo? So he’s alive? That son of a bitch. I’ll kill him with my bare hands, I swear.”
“You won’t have to,” Mpho replied. “Ke Tau took care of him.”
“How so?”
“He was fed to the infected. Alive.”
Lisa waited for a feeling of satisfaction, even triumph, to take hold. Neither did. Instead, she felt nothing but sorrow for the boy.
“He mentioned you at the end,” Mpho said.
Lisa looked up in surprise. “He did?”
Mpho nodded and repeated Kabelo’s last words. “I believe he regretted his actions.”
“As he should,” Lisa replied brusquely, but a small part of her cried for him. He should have stayed, and I should’ve been more open to him. Maybe if I had tried harder…
Regrets were empty, though, and Lisa pushed them aside with resolution. “Why did Ke Tau kill him? He was one of them.”
“He was a coward, allowing himself to be held captive by a mere woman.”
Lisa’s eyebrows lifted. “Really?”
Mpho grinned. “Ke Tau’s words, not mine. I’d never underestimate the female sex, especially not you.”
Lisa found herself smiling back. “You’re not so bad yourself. Running all the way here in the middle of the night with no shoes and only a steak knife to defend yourself? That took guts.”
“We’ll need it when he attacks tonight,” Mpho said, wincing when Lisa pulled a thorn from her soles with a pair of tweezers.
“So he’s coming?” Lisa asked. “Today’s the day?”
Michael nodded. “Max has called a meeting in the common room. Everyone has to attend.”
Lisa nodded as she finished wrapping Mpho’s feet in bandages. “I’ll be there. I just need to make sure Lonny is settled.”
“How’s he doing?” Michael asked.
“Not too good. He’s hurt, and it’ll take time for him to heal. He won’t be fighting with us tonight.”
Mpho got onto her feet, and gingerly stepped on her dressed feet. “Thank you, Lisa. See you at the meeting?”
“Five minutes,” Lisa agreed.
The duo left, and Lisa stood for a long moment, thinking of the day to come. She was scared, no doubt about it. The thought of losing and falling into the hands of Ke Tau and his men churned her stomach. I won’t let them take me alive. I won’t.
This resolution calmed her somewhat, and she thought of the children. Meghan, Anne, Mark, and Jenny. Even Ruby and Michelle. I can’t, no, I won’t, let them be captured. Before it gets to that, I’ll take care of them myself.
After checking one final time that Lonny was sleeping soundly, she let herself out and walked toward the dining area. She stepped inside and paused when she surveyed the crowded room.
A queue lined the serving counter, and her stomach rumbled when a whiff of eggs and sausage hit her nostrils. She picked up a plate and cutlery, joining the row behind Sharyn.
“Hi,” she greeted.
“Hello,” Sharyn replied with a hesitant smile.
“Food smells good,” Lisa said in an attempt to make conversation with a woman she knew little about. They’d never had the occasion to talk before. Naturally, she’d seen Sharyn and her husband Nick around, but that was the extent of her knowledge.
“Yes, it does.”
“Elise sure knows how to cook.”
“Indeed.”
Sharyn’s manner seemed forced, and Lisa dropped the subject. Instead, she averted her gaze and looked at everyone assembled. They were all there. The entire camp. Even the children and dogs. All except for Abe and Joseph who kept watch during the meal, and Michael, Mpho, and Max. I wonder where they went?
Even as she thought this, Max entered, followed by a freshly washed and dressed couple in the form of Michael and Mpho. They took their place in line, and for the next few minutes, everybody seemed intent on one task only: Breakfast.
Lisa reached the head of the queue and was faced with a harassed looking Elise. The woman’s blonde hair was scraped back in a bun and her apron stained with who knows what. Still, Lisa was glad to see her. “Morning, Elise. Do you need any help?”
“Oh, no, dear. Thank you for asking, but I’ll manage.” Elise dished up a spoonful of scrambled eggs, followed by fried tomato and onions, maize porridge, and a homemade venison sausage. “Coffee and tea are over there. I put out the last of the powdered milk and sugar as well, so help yourself.”
“Thanks, but what’s the occasion?” Lisa asked as she eyed her plate. It was the kind of food they hadn’t had in ages. Eggs were scarce, as was fresh vegetables, and the last sugar and powdered milk? Wow.
“I’d rather not say,” Elise replied. “Max will fill you in soon enough.”
Lisa realized the feast was in honor of the forthcoming fight, probably to boost morale. She forced a smile, and said, “Thank you, Elise, and I’m sorry.”
“For what?” Elise looked perplexed at the apology.
“For being such a bitch to you.”
Elise shook her head with sadness stamped all over her features. “Don’t be silly. You were right. I should’ve listened to you.”
Lisa shook her head, disturbed by the broken look on the older woman’s face. She opened her mouth to reply, but the moment passed when an impatient Peter and Thembiso pressed in for their food. With leaden feet, she found a seat and picked at her food. It no longer seemed all that tasty.
She forced herself to eat every morsel, however. In the fight to come, she’d need the energy to sustain her. Afterward, she took her plate back and poured herself a cup of sweetened tea, hot and black just as she liked it. This she nursed while waiting for the rest to sort themselves out.
Lisa noticed the moment when Max called Peter and Thembiso. The two friends had wolved down their food in record time and
even gone back for seconds. Now they were fresh and eager to please.
“Peter, Thembiso,” Max called.
They jogged over. “Yes, Max?”
“I want you to relieve Abe and Joseph on the walls. Send them here so they can have breakfast as well.”
“Okay,” they chorused.
“I’m counting on you to keep us safe, got it? It’ll be just the two of you for at least an hour. Can you handle it?”
“Yes, Sir.” Comically, they saluted the bemused Max.
“And boys, don’t try to be heroes. If you see anything suspicious, I want you to run straight back here.”
They bounded off, as eager as puppies, and not long after, Abe and Joseph entered the room. Elise dished up for them, and they took their seats while Julianne went about clearing the room of dirty dishes.
She press-ganged the children into washing up in the kitchen under the supervision of Michelle and Ruby, and the group trooped out amidst promises of sweets as a reward for their hard work. That left only those who would attend the meeting, and Lisa sat up straighter.
The room was abuzz with speculation as everybody wondered what the decadent breakfast was for. What could be so important, that even the walls were abandoned except for a single pair of guards in the form of two teenage boys? And who were the strangers? Not everybody was familiar with either Mpho or Ruby.
Max stood up and cleared his throat. “Right, I guess you are all wondering why I called you here.”
Murmurs of assent rose.
“It’s simple. This morning, I received information to the effect that Ke Tau is attacking us in full force. Tonight.”
Wild chatter broke out, and he had to wait a full minute before peace was restored. A few lingering voices called out questions.
“Why tonight?”
“What do we do?”
“Can we fight them off?”
“Where’s Breytenbach?”
Max raised a hand. “If you’ll allow me, I’ll tell you everything and answer all your questions, but you have to let me talk first.”
Silence fell.
Max cleared his throat, and in a somber voice, relayed everything he knew. As he spoke, the mood in the room changed. It went from excited, to restless, to shocked, and finally, dismayed. He ended with the news that nobody knew where Breytenbach was or why they hadn’t returned.
Children of the Apocalypse: Mega Boxed Set Page 67