“But that’s also fun, isn’t it? I mean, we’ll all bend over backwards to take care of you and indulge you.”
Her voice quivered with indignation, “I don’t need anyone to take care of me! I am already nine, not a baby!”
“Of course not, Alice. I am sorry if I didn’t put it quite right. You certainly are no baby anymore! You have been so brave these last few weeks. What I meant is that we will all love you very much and will try to make up for the fact that you have no other children to play with. We will try to be as good a substitute as possible. Deal?”
I liked the way he handled her and talked with her. And apparently so did Alice.
“Okay,” she said. “Piglet and Malinda will like it, too, I think.”
At that we all had to laugh, I embraced her and cuddled her close.
“You are such a sweet one, little tiger! I am really proud of you!”
“Why do you call Alice ‘little tiger’? It’s kind of funny.” Josh inquired.
“It’s not.” That was Alice herself. “It’s because I am brave and can climb a tree like a little tiger, isn’t Lia?”
“Something like this, Alice, something like it; not just quite that, but you got close.”
How I loved my little sister who was desperately trying to cope with a situation that was so way beyond anything she could comprehend!
“Well then, little tiger Alice, I am really looking forward to make your acquaintance soon and see you climb trees. But for now, I think we should let Lia rest, don’t you?”
It was true, I was dead tired and needed sleep. But I was reluctant to finish the conversation, not yet ready to let go, even though we could talk again tomorrow, wouldn’t we? But then I had to yawn again which settled it for Josh.
“That’s enough, Lia, you need to sleep. We’ll have all the time we want later. Please, go and get some rest now.”
“Okay, I guess I should, because I am having difficulties keeping my eyes open.”
Another yawn.
“Sorry, Josh. I love you, so much. Be careful!”
“I will, I will. Go get some rest now! We’ll talk again tomorrow, Lia. Love you, too! More than I can say. And Alice, take care, too.” With these words he cut the line and Alice and I sat together in silence for a moment.
Alice looked a bit pensive, so I hugged her and gave her a smack on her hair.
“And you, little tiger, did you have a good day today? Are you okay?”
“I did. Sort of. Yuki and Nin told me about two hundred times not to be too loud; that I would wake you up. But I didn’t, did I?”
She looked pleased with herself.
“You know Lia, Malinda had to teach Piglet a lot these days. He was always so afraid that you wouldn’t come back. But she told him all the time not to worry and we were all very brave!”
Ah, my brave little sister! I embraced her tightly and she sighed happily, resting her head and entire body against my chest.
“I love you so much, tiger, so much!”
“I know, Lia! And I am so happy that you are back!” s
She nestled even closer.
“Lia?”
“Yes, little tiger?”
“I like the way you and Josh talk. It’s more like adults, not so much kissing and sweet-talking like with Yuki and Nin. They just kiss too much, don’t you think? I think it’s disgusting!”
I had to laugh, she was so cute.
“Everyone is different, you know. And to hug and kiss is what one does when one loves someone. Josh and I didn’t have the chance to do it yet, but we may well do it, too.”
She looked a bit scandalized at this, so I added. “And so will you, one day, when you will be older, much older, and fall in love with someone. Trust me!”
“I won’t! It’s just disgusting, all this hugging and kissing!”
“But Alice, I am hugging and kissing you all the time and you don’t mind that – what’s the difference to Nin and Yuki hugging and kissing each other?”
She tilted her head to the side and thought about this for a moment.
“I don’t know; it’s just different!”
Her categorical answer made me laugh again.
“You are a real cute one, aren’t you tiger? But let’s get back to Yuki and Nin and eat something, then we’ll go to sleep; I am really dead on my feet. Okay?”
With that we got up and walked over to the main room where the others had already prepared dinner. I wasn’t hungry, just thirsty.
All I really wanted was to go back to sleep.
Yuki had cooked a little something and it would have been rude not to at least appear to eat. I settled for a bit of soup and bread with tea. Yuki tried to press me to eat more with a lot of not so subtle hints about how thin I had become.
But I really didn’t feel like eating. I felt both happy after talking with Josh and strangely anxious.
“Nin, there’s something I have been wondering about ever since Josh mentioned that sweep the Nemesis intend to carry out. When I left to lead Steve astray I closed the bomb-shelter door from the outside without locking it. Now that I came in, I locked it from the inside. Don’t you think that they would notice, if they were to come back and check? Wouldn’t that be a dead give-away that we are still here?”
“Hm, let me think.” Nin absentmindedly rubbed his chin with his index finger, always a clear sign that he was thinking hard.
“You’re probably right. I could be a give-away; but do you think that they noticed which way the bomb-shelter door was locked?”
“It’d be stupid to think otherwise, don’t you think?”
We couldn’t take this chance, too much was at stake.
“Yeah, again, you’re right, but what should we do?”
“I was kind of hoping you would come up with a feasible idea.” I answered, a bit exasperated that he couldn’t take the lead here, after all, I was so tired.
Yuki, ever the sensitive one, offered a compromise. “Why don’t we go upstairs, unlock the bomb-shelter door and just leave it without really closing it from the inside. Wouldn’t that be a possibility?”
“I don’t know. I somehow can’t think it through right now; I am too tired. It sounds feasible. And if we did it now, we should be safe. I think.”
I felt very uneasy, but couldn’t quite decide whether from exhaustion or because we were about to make a mistake and I somehow sensed it. I shook my head to wake myself up, it didn’t help.
And Nin was no real help either.
“I think that’s a good idea. Let’s do it.”
He already got up and started walking toward the door.
“Wait, wait, wait, not so hasty.” I interrupted him. “We have to be careful here. First of all, let’s put off all the lights and use only a small flash light. And we will only switch it on after we opened the sub-basement door and saw that no one is in the bomb-shelter and while the bomb shelter door is still closed. Once we open that door, we’ll have to act in darkness. And I want you to carry a weapon with you, just in case.”
Nin rolled his eyes, clearly thinking that I was going overboard here. But I wasn’t taking any risks here, no way; and Yuki, from the look of her, clearly agreed with me. Alice just clung to my side, too scared to say much.
And so Nin went to get a weapon, while I got the torch.
We all went to open the door together, I cautioned them to listen carefully for any unusual sound, before we stepped out into the bomb-shelter.
There was nothing suspicious. And so we all proceeded toward the bomb-shelter door.
Nin carefully opened the door while I switched off the torch.
Again, we stood still and listened, long and hard.
But there was no sound. Nothing.
Then, Nin pushed the door close again, without locking it. We disappeared back into the sub-basement and quickly locked the door thoroughly behind ourselves.
“Wow, this was strange.” Yuki exclaimed. “I feel like a mouse that dared to venture out
of its whole toward where the cats are sleeping.”
I had to laugh at this comparison, but she was kind of right. It really had been a funny move, all of us trooping to that door and quickly back into the sub-basement again. Alice was smiling too, a bit anxiously, but smiling. I hugged her.
“Little tiger, you alright?”
“It was fun.” She answered me bit breathless. “I would have liked to go further.”
“No so hasty, little one! We are nowhere near safe yet. We have to remain vigilant and careful, very careful. One false move and we could all die.”
Now it was my turn to roll my eyes at Nin. Really! How could he put it like that and frighten Alice – for sure enough, she looked alarmed and made a face as if she was about to cry.
“Nin! “Yuki exclaimed. “How can you say something like this? We all know that we have to be careful. We all heard Josh today. No need to scold and scare Alice!”
“It’s okay Yuki,” Alice murmured. “I understand. I just meant that I was great to be outside of the sub-basement a bit. I wouldn’t do anything that could endanger us. Never! I promise!”
Now she was definitely about to cry.
I wrapped her up in my arms and held her tight.
“I know, I know. We all know. And so does Nin. We are all of us just a bit jumpy, aren’t we? But we’ll be able leave this place soon, I promise. And then you’ll be able to hold your face into the wind again, and enjoy the sun and the wind, you’ll see.”
They all laughed. I felt like collapsing soon, I was so tired.
“Please, I am so exhausted! I need to go to sleep. Can we talk about all of this tomorrow?”
Nin and Yuki hastened to agree and sent Alice and me off to bed. They would remain in the main room a bit, they told us. Alice and I withdrew with Piglet and Malinda to our bed. It was a bit cramped in it with Piglet and Malinda, especially since Alice insisted that they sleep side by side next to us. Them being the smallest, as Alice explained, they had to sleep closest to the wall; then came Alice in the middle of the bed and I on the outer side; because, as Alice generously informed me, I would have to defend them all in case of an attack. I hugged her tight and planted a smack on her front.
“Sleep tight, Alice, my love, sleep tight. By the way, did I tell you today, that I love you?”
She rolled her eyes.
“Yes! Several times.”
“Well then, it won’t hurt to say it again: I truly love you, Alice, never forget that!”
Holding her in my arms I slept deep, without waking once or being disturbed by dreams. It was wonderful.
Chapter 14 – cut off
Wednesday, 20th April 2072
It was Nin’s laughter from far that woke me up. And when I checked the alarm clock beside the bed I saw that it was two o’clock. Afternoon I guessed. That meant that I had slept more than fifteen hours again.
But it had done me good. I felt great, ready to face whatever lay ahead of us.
Slowly I got up, stretched myself, put on a hoodie and walked out to the main room.
“Hello sleepy-head, finally awake?” Yuki sat on the sofa with a book.
“Thanks for letting me sleep that long”, I replied. “I feel great now, relaxed, fresh and myself again. What’s up?”
“Nothing much, Nin talked with Uncle Phil this morning and also with Josh – he sends his love, by the way.”
She smiled at me sweetly; I smiled back. I was getting used to this association with someone else. It felt good.
“And now he’s trying to call Josh again. Apparently it doesn’t work, but he says not to worry. He thinks he might be able to work it out, I guess.”
“Where’s Alice? How is she?”
“Just fine, she’s with Nin. He’s been teaching her some computer games. It’s become a bit of a problem to keep her busy down here, you know. She doesn’t like to read or do much by herself. The computer games are not a super idea, I know, but they keep her busy.”
She got up and walked toward the kitchen.
“Now that you’re back, she’ll probably want to play with you and you only, so be prepared.”
I stood by the door and just took in the scene, stifling a yawn. It looked so cosy, not at all like life in a bunker. We had light, colourful walls, comfortable furniture – we really were lucky to have this place.
“What did Uncle Phil have to say? Are they doing fine?”
“Yes, it seems they haven’t encountered any problems so far. Nobody has heard from your Dad, though,” she said carefully.
I just shrugged my shoulders. Dad had made his choices, he could look after himself. And, I was sure he’d make it down to Uncle Phil’s hideout, eventually. That I didn’t doubt.
“Would you like some tea, Lia?”
I walked over to Yuki and gave her a hug, it felt good.
“I am so glad that I am back, Yuki. You’ll have to tell me a lot more about yourself, you know. And I feel silly that you should cook for me. But yes, a cup of tea would be great. But let me go and wash first. By the way, water’s still no problem, right? We have enough?”
She hugged me, too, before stepping back toward the kitchen. “No problem at all. Your Dad really planned this place in a very, very clever way. You can take a long shower, if you like, the water is just not so warm.”
I went to wash, brush my teeth and get ready for this day. When I saw my face in the mirror I understood why Yuki had complained about me being too thin. I looked thin and kind of vulnerable, not at all how I really felt. I guessed it would change quickly. What with all the food we had and no real exercise or hardship. I would soon look like my normal self.
I stared at myself in the mirror a little longer, thinking of Josh, wondering how it would be when he would finally get here. Would he still know me? I mean, I for one had kind of difficulties to picture his face in detail. I knew how he looked like, sure, of course, but it was more a general kind of mental picture I had of him. I didn’t remember how he looked in details and I had no photo of him. His voice was the prominent feature for now. That deep, gentle voice! And he had said that he loved me. Just the thought of it sent butterflies all over my body. It felt both wonderful and strange. Probably things would seem more normal once we’d be reunited.
I was a bit afraid of that, honestly. After all, what could he possibly see in me. He was five years older than me and he’d surely met women a hundred times more accomplished, interesting and beautiful than me. My only expertise was babysitting Alice, plus that I knew how to get by in nature. Dad and Uncle Phil had seen to this. Nin and I had been trained in finding our ways and knowing how to get by in the wild from very early on. Other than that, my skills were moderate. And my looks, to be frank, I couldn’t understand how he might find me attractive. I mean, compared with such natural beauties like Yuki or tons of other girls. Really, it beat me how he could think me beautiful. But he’d said that I had beautiful eyes. Well, they were grey. Other than that I saw nothing that should be special. I sighed, finished brushing my hair, tying it in a simple knot, and then I headed for the main room and my cup of tea. Alice had meanwhile joined Yuki and was bouncing up and down on the sofa with Malinda.
“Finally, Lia, you slept sooo long again!”
She jumped on my lap as soon as I sat down on the sofa.
I cuddled and tickled her a bit. She giggled, wriggling out of my embrace to run over to Nin. Clearly, she was very wound-up and full of energy.
I motioned over to Yuki.
“Has she given you a hard time? I hope she didn’t tire you out too much; what with your condition!”
Yuki dismissed my concern with a shrug.
“It’s nothing. It was good to have her with us. Without her, I guess, we both would have succumbed to depression. But she kept us busy and distracted our minds from the worry.”
I sipped at my tea and felt guilty.
“Was it very bad? How are you, Yuki? Be honest! How are you faring?”
“I am fine, really,
Lia. I wouldn’t lie to you! I am fine.”
She was tracing circles on her mug and I silently waited for her to go on.
Finally she looked up and there was panic in her eyes.
“It’s what lies ahead that scares me. If I allow myself to think about my pregnancy and about giving birth, I feel like freaking out. And, you know, I can’t say anything about this to Nin. It would stress him out totally. He already feels guilty and helpless and is overprotective to the point of being a nuisance!”
She looked guilty herself, but I had to grin. Of course, Nin could never be of any help here. He was too much involved, for one; plus, he was a man and naturally afraid or insecure about it all.
“I am so happy that you are back, Lia, and that I can tell you about this! You understand, you sympathize where Nin just gets nervous! I love him dearly but he’s not been much help in this respect. I really missed you!”
“Don’t worry! I understand. Nin is great but this is not his field and I can understand why he feels guilty. Did you hear that one of Josh’s friends who will probably accompany him here is a nurse? I honestly felt very relieved when he mentioned it yesterday. To think that we might have someone around who knows about medical issues, don’t you?”
“Yes, Josh told us so some days ago. Kate! And I already talked with her. She gave me some advice and generally made me feel a lot better.”
She looked down onto her lap, twisting her fingers as if arguing with herself whether to go on or not. Then she quickly glanced over to the fitness room. The door was halfway closed; we could hear Nin and Alice laughing and arguing over something. Yuki bent forward and said in a low whisper.
“I feel so guilty, Lia. But I was so scared of it all, that I wished for the pregnancy to fail, that I might have a spontaneous abortion or something. I feel so horrible, but I did!”
I quickly set down the mug and knelt beside her, embracing her.
“You have nothing to feel bad about. Yuki! Look at me!”
She reluctantly faced me.
I insisted. “There’s nothing, absolutely nothing you have to feel guilty about! I would have done just the same, I am sure, were I in your shoes. I can so understand why you wished for this pregnancy to end. Really. And I do not, and will never, reproach you for having harboured such thoughts. You were overwrought, stressed out and alone. Of course you would get anxious. But we will see this through together. I will not let you down in this, Yuki, you can absolutely count on me.”
Lia's files 1_Presumed extinct Page 25