Fred nodded his head. “I’ll keep my eyes open,” he promised.
“I know you haven’t been able to have target practice but you’ve been through the basics on how to use the rifle, right?” Wolf asked. “It’s different than that Glock you’ve been carrying,” he pointed out.
Fred offered a confident grin, surprising Regan. “Count on me. I can do this,” he promised.
“I don’t need help. I can pack my stuff by myself,” Lily complained. “I have my own gun.”
“That little gun isn’t going to do anything but make a bear mad,” Wolf shot back.
Wolf stalked away. Not bothering to argue with the tween, Regan walked up to where Lily had set up her small tent.
“It’ll be faster if we all work together,” Regan said, hoping to get Lily to calm down. She knew Lily wanted to be independent and felt bad for her. Wolf had managed to strip away that tiny bit of independence without realizing he had done it.
Staring off after her dad, Lily nodded after a moment and then got busy packing up her meager supplies, stuffing them into her backpack. Beside her, Regan began to pull up the tent stakes while Fred stood watch. It was discomfiting to think that there could be a predator lurking in the trees. While she knew wild animals rarely attacked people for no good reason, it was still a little scary, especially after having seen that bear so close to the house.
“Why do you insist on staying away from everyone else at the house?” Fred asked Lily.
She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“I think I know why,” Fred started. “You feel like you don’t have a place anymore. Your dad brought all of us home and you feel like you’re not an important part of the family.”
Lily mumbled something under her breath.
“I get it,” Regan chimed in. “Trust me, I’m a lot like you. Fred will tell you that. All of them will. The trip here, it wasn’t great for me.”
That seemed to intrigue Lily. “What do you mean?”
Fred chuckled. “She’s right. Regan was always running away from us. She didn’t like to sleep in the same room as us—that is, when we had a room to sleep in and weren’t outside. Regan did the loner thing, just like you.”
“Why’d you run away?” Lily asked, her packing forgotten.
Regan shrugged, focusing on the tent. “I don’t know. I felt like I didn’t really belong. Fred and your dad, all of them, they all seemed to kind of connect. I didn’t. I’m not used to being around people, especially strangers. I didn’t even have a job back in the old world. I mean, I had a job, but I worked from home.”
“That’s weird. Are you one of those shut-ins, or whatever they’re called?” she asked.
Regan smiled. “Not exactly. I just prefer to be by myself. I don’t trust people easily. It takes me a while to get close to anyone.”
Lily scoffed. “But you’re with my dad now, like boyfriend and girlfriend.”
Regan smiled. “It took me a long time to get there.”
“You haven’t known him all that long,” Lily pointed out.
“A couple of months, but a couple months of being with each other day in and day out, and surviving the impossible while being isolated from the world…that feels like years. I feel like I know your dad pretty well,” Regan explained in a gentle voice.
Lily shrugged. “I suppose.”
“Do you feel like we exclude you?” Regan asked her, wanting to know the truth.
Seeing the look on the girl’s face, the truth of things was clear enough—she felt excluded, but there was more to it—and Regan vowed to herself that she’d work harder to include Lily. She knew what it felt like to be left out. She would never knowingly do that to Lily.
Lily had grown quiet again, but answered after a few more seconds passed. “It isn’t that. You have my dad. Tabitha and Geno are together, and you and Tabitha are friends.”
“What about me?” Fred asked, amusement in his voice. “Am I an outcast?”
Regan and Lily exchanged a look. “Welllll,” Lily teased while Regan smiled at him.
“Why do you sleep outside, Lily? You have a bed, a house with all the comforts,” Fred pressed.
She sighed. “I don’t know. I like it out here. I like feeling free. Out here, it’s the same.”
“What do you mean it’s the same?” Regan asked.
“I mean, I used to camp out all the time. It’s exactly how it was before everything happened. When I’m in the house, it’s like being constantly reminded that the world fell apart. I like to pretend everything is normal and we’re on summer break,” she said with a wistful tone in her voice.
“Ah. I get it,” Fred said. “I wish I could have something normal in my life. I like to try and forget what has happened sometimes, too.”
Regan smiled. “Me, too. Sometimes, when I’m walking on the beach, I like to pretend I’m on vacation.”
Lily laughed and seemed to relax a bit more. Together, they loaded up her gear and began the walk back to the house. Regan felt a lot better about her relationship with Lily now—maybe they’d just needed a crisis and Fred for buffering all along. It was also good to know she hadn’t been the one to run Lily off. Maybe she’d had a part in it, but the bigger culprit had simply been the EMP from the looks of things.
“You know, Lily, this is all really smart,” Fred commented.
“What is?”
“You, looking for a sense of normalcy in this abnormal world—that’s really smart. The way you found it is, too. I don’t think it occurred to any of us that that was what you’ve been doing, but it makes sense.”
“Thank you,” she muttered.
They stowed Lily’s gear in the shed and headed inside.
“Want to help me make something for dinner?” Regan asked Lily, hoping to take advantage of the little breakthrough in their relationship.
Lily moaned. “I guess. I was going to have fish.”
Regan laughed. “So were we until the bear decided he wanted it.”
Fred returned the rifle to the safe, leaving Regan and Lily alone in the kitchen. Regan suddenly felt awkward. “So, should we whip up one of those freeze-dried meals?” Regan asked.
Lily rolled her eyes. “I don’t care.”
Regan wanted to bury her face in her hands. She had hoped they were past the attitude. She should have known the night’s progress would be short-lived. At this age, Lily still had years of the yo-yo attitude ahead of her.
17
Regan hadn’t been looking forward to standing over a hot fire as they canned the bear meat from the day before. And today was supposed to be especially humid according to RC. It was all in the clouds, he’d explained, watching the color of the sky at night and at daybreak. Regan was going to take his word for it.
With the weather in mind, though, she and Tabitha had decided to get up early to get the chore done before the heat of the day. It had taken ages, but hadn’t actually been as bad as she’d feared.
Now, with the last jars of meat cooling on the counter in the kitchen, Regan and Tabitha were taking a much deserved break in the patio while sipping on cold water and eating some of the sea grapes Regan had harvested the day before.
“Do you want me to help you in the greenhouse today?” Tabitha asked as they sat in the quiet room.
Regan simply shrugged. “If you need to work on your garden, go ahead. It looks like it could rain again,” Regan said, looking at the clouds that seemed to be joining together in the distance.
“Yeah, we’re getting to the point where it’s going to be most every day. But the rain last night was nice. It will make it much easier to weed the area. I hate how fast weeds grow,” Tabitha complained. “I wish I could remember the mixture Geno’s grandmother told me about. It was some natural weed killer. I think it was a combination of salt and vinegar.”
“That sounds like it would kill anything.”
Tabitha laughed. “This afternoon I’m going to search Wolf’s library and see if I can find anything
in those gardening books.”
“I’m going to collect more tinder before it rains again, and start stockpiling it to dry so we have it when we need it now that the rains are picking up. I want to make sure we can start a fire even if everything is wet,” Regan added.
“Oh, I’ll help you. Wolf doesn’t want us roaming the island alone anymore.”
Regan laughed. “It isn’t that big. If we get into trouble, all we have to do is yell really loud.”
Tabitha shook her head. “The birds and the sound of the water and trees rustling in the wind will drown out your shouts if you’re in the wrong spot.”
“Fine. You can go with me, and then I’ll help you make your stinky weed killer. After the orange peel and vinegar job, I don’t think I ever want to smell vinegar again.”
Their plans decided, the women got busy with going through their normal routine, but were interrupted when Geno came stomping into the greenhouse.
“Did I leave my crescent wrench in here?” he barked at Regan.
Regan stared at him, wondering if he was joking. “Not that I know of. Why would you have had it in here?”
Rather than answering, Geno started moving stuff around on the shelves, his frustration evident. Regan had to keep herself from saying something about the way he was manhandling the supplies she had so neatly organized. The man was like a giant bear himself, his big paws moving everything around and knocking other things over. The noise was enough to bring Tabitha into the greenhouse.
“What are you looking for?” she asked him, looking at Regan and then her husband as he cleared another shelf.
“My crescent wrench, the big one I use for everything,” he growled.
“You think you left it in here?” Tabitha asked, moving up beside him to put things back on the shelf.
“Or maybe someone borrowed it and forgot to put it back,” he snapped, turning his scowl on Regan.
Regan rolled her eyes. “I didn’t touch your wrench. Why would I? I’m not exactly building anything in here.”
“I don’t know, but it’s gone. I always leave it in my toolbox. It’s missing, along with a screwdriver.”
“Can’t you use one of RC’s tools?” Tabitha asked, trying to soothe her riled husband.
“Yes, but I want my tools!”
Regan turned her back to Geno, deciding to let his wife deal with the temper tantrum. He was acting extremely childish, and the urge to tell him so was strong enough that she knew she’d give in if she focused any more attention on him. Instead, she turned her attention to the leafy greens and, soon enough, he stomped out of the greenhouse as expected, mumbling under his breath about the missing tools.
When Regan turned back around, Tabitha was watching her husband stomp toward the picnic table. His head was darting back and forth, clearly searching the ground for the missing tools.
“He’s pretty serious about those tools,” Regan commented.
Tabitha shook her head. “He isn’t usually the type to lose stuff. Hopefully, someone borrowed them and he’ll find them soon. If not, he’s going to tear this place apart looking.”
“Yeah, well, I wish him luck. Meanwhile, I’m going to get some water—do you want any?” Regan asked.
Tabitha shook her head. “I’m good. You better fill a water bottle if you’re going to be working in here much longer, though. It’s really hot and stuffy in here, more than usual.”
Regan smiled. “I know, and the plants love it.”
Tabitha laughed. “You treat these plants like they’re your babies.”
Regan shrugged, looking around at the greenhouse covered in lush green plants with lots of hanging fruit. “In a way, they are. I’ve been nurturing them and helping them grow.”
“Well, get some water before you dehydrate in here. I’m going back to my weeding.”
Regan made her way up to the house, grabbed one of the reusable water bottles, and filled it with water from the pitcher in the refrigerator. As she did, Fred came in the back door, his forehead scrunched up as he looked around the kitchen, hands on his hips and looking confused in general.
“What’s up?” she asked him.
“I can’t find the water filter I was supposed to switch out on the barrels. I thought I had it out there, but I can’t find it. I must have left it in here somewhere.”
Regan giggled. “I think I saw this episode on Gilligan’s Island once.”
Fred stopped looking in the cupboards and stared at her. “What?”
“Gilligan’s Island. Come on, didn’t you ever watch re-runs of that show?”
“I’ve seen an episode or two, but it wasn’t what I typically enjoyed watching.”
“Well, I love the oldies. Anyways, there was an episode where everyone had stuff turn up missing. It was a gorilla or something, if I remember right,” Regan offered, trying to remember the episode. “First Geno, and now you? Maybe it’s a gorilla.”
“I think you need to drink more water. You’re not making any sense.”
She took a drink from the bottle. “Geno’s missing a couple tools. Now, you’re missing something. Obviously, no one stole the stuff. Pretty soon, you guys are going to be accusing someone of theft. It’ll probably be me,” she quipped. “I’m telling you now, I didn’t take Geno’s tools or your filter. I doubt anyone did. How would that help anyone?”
Fred shook his head, opening another kitchen drawer. “It wouldn’t, which is why, if someone picked it up and moved it, they should tell me.”
“I didn’t move or touch it. Maybe ask Wolf or RC?” Regan offered, seeing how annoyed Fred was getting. “They might have decided to replace the filter. Or check the storeroom where the filters are kept. It could have gotten put back, or maybe put back in the wrong place,” Regan reasoned before heading back out to the greenhouse, her water bottle in hand.
Still, she chuckled to herself as she thought about Gilligan’s Island and the similarities to their own situation. The next hour passed with her busy in the greenhouse and Tabitha knelt down over her herbs, dutifully plucking weeds and tending her garden.
Geno appeared at the door again. “I still can’t find them!” he announced.
Regan sighed. “I’m almost done in here. I’ll help you look then.”
“Where? I’ve looked everywhere,” he emphasized.
Regan shrugged. “Sometimes a fresh set of eyes is all you need.”
Geno growled with frustration. “My eyes work fine. If it was here or anywhere I’ve looked, I would have seen it.”
“Have you asked Lily? Maybe she needed something and didn’t think to ask?”
“That doesn’t sound like something she would do, but I’ll ask. Where is she at now?” Geno asked, irritation in his voice.
Regan shrugged. “She usually goes down by the water to fish at this time of day.”
Regan finished up her work and motioned for Geno to move out of the way so that she could walk out of the greenhouse. He’d stood in the doorway waiting, clearly wanting the help she’d offered even if he’d said otherwise.
“Want to take a break and help us look for Geno’s tools?” Regan asked Tabitha as she wiped her hands dry. “We can collect that tinder I talked about earlier,” she added as they stopped near the garden.
Tabitha looked up from her position on the ground, a small streak of dirt on her cheek. “Yes, that sounds like a good idea. I’m done here anyway.”
Together, the three of them made their way down to the dock. Regan wanted to check around the area first before they went to find Lily, knowing Lily would probably get mad if they accused her of borrowing the tools. Geno had already admitted that one of the last places he remembered using the wrench was on the dock, when he’d been fixing the boat. It made sense to start there even if he had already checked around.
“I told you they weren’t here!” Geno grumbled after they spent some time looking in both boats and on the dock.
“We’ll look for Lily next,” Regan said, heading down the beach.<
br />
“What’s that?” Tabitha asked, pointing to a space near the tree line, and a small fire ring with some smoldering logs inside it.
“Lily didn’t put out her fire again,” Regan complained, kicking sand onto the burning logs. “She’s going to burn this island down. I thought Wolf taught her to be more careful than this.”
“What do you mean again?” Tabitha asked, using her hands to scoop sand onto the fire. “And didn’t she sleep inside last night? I thought Wolf told her there’d be no more camping out right now until we did a thorough search for bears?”
“Oh, right,” Regan stumbled. Tabitha was right—Lily had slept in her room last night. But maybe she’d set a fire for some other reason that morning? Instead of puzzling over it, Regan shook her head and answered Tabitha’s question. “A few days ago, I found a fire that hadn’t been put out on the other side of the island. She’d been fishing nearby. I’m assuming she planned on going right back, but still, it’s dangerous.”
Geno was walking around, kicking at a bed made from palm fronds. “I don’t see my tools or Fred’s filter. This was a waste of time.”
“Let’s go back to the house and see if Lily is there,” Tabitha said. “We need to remind her this is not safe. If she’s going to be starting fires, she needs to make sure to put them out.”
As the trio walked in the front door of the house, they saw Fred was with Lily, looking under the couch.
“What are you doing?” Tabitha asked, surveying the scene.
Lily stood and put her hands on her hips. “Did one of you take my hair dye?”
Regan and Tabitha both shook their heads, then turned and looked at Geno.
“Don’t look at me!” he protested.
“You can see we still have dark hair,” Tabitha pointed out. “Lily, we came across a fire still burning. You need to make sure you’re putting fires out all the way and covering them with dirt. A single spark is all it takes to ignite the grass around here.”
Surviving the Refuge (Survivalist Reality Show Book 2) Page 18