Lights Out (Book 4): New Frontier

by Cal, Sarah

  They had a home now, even if it wasn’t theirs, the others would want to make it so. The danger wasn’t gone, but Emma knew they were all happy and she didn’t want it to be cut short. Having people die when it could be avoided would be an easy way to do that.

  “We’ll leave the night patrols alone for now,” she said decisively. “Even if we could manage it, the risk is too great. Unless the loss becomes too much, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  Harry gave her a thoughtful look, then nodded sharply. “I thought so,” he said decisively.

  Emma thought he was agreeing with her assessment, until he spoke up again.

  “I’m putting you in charge of sorting out everyone’s roles, Emma. I saw it yesterday and it’s only more obvious today. All those people in there clearly trust you, and I think they would follow your lead. If they trust you, I’m willing to trust your judgment.”

  Emma blinked, and opened her mouth, only nothing came out. She shot a look at Chase, but he just arched an eyebrow, as if asking her, ‘what do you want me to do?’

  “Um,” she floundered. “Okay. We... I mean I suggest a rotation first, so that people can try their hand at both jobs. They can decide what’s best for them and see if they’ll alternate or just stick to one thing.”

  “You’re the expert,” Harry said. “I’ll do whatever you thinks is best, since you know the group better.”

  Emma blinked in surprise that he really would just take her word for it. She had expected some form of discussion, at least, but that didn’t seem to be the case. She shot another glance at Chase, but he looked like he thought the situation was humorous.

  “Just roll with it, Emma,” he said sagely. “Everyone else will go along with it.”

  She had some doubt, but hearing Chase say it... gave her confidence. He might be her best friend, but he didn’t lie to her about things that were important, like this was. She allowed herself to feel good about it.

  Emma was proud to be put in charge.

  “I’ll get to work right away,” she said.

  Since they were done, they walked back to the house with her taking the lead. Emma gathered the group up and explains that they’ll all have jobs while they’re on the farm. As expected, no one objected. Several of them even looked relived, like they hadn’t truly believed they could stay until that moment.

  She left Brian in charge of caring for the kids, alternating with Kellen. Then she divided the others into two groups who would alternate between farming and protecting the land. She put Carol, Brian, Kellen, Chase and Merry on her team. Knowing she couldn’t leave Merry unattended or with a weapon, she gave her the job of team leader so that she felt important.

  Emma dismissed the group and they did as she’d asked.

  She was left on her own, and she took a moment to reflect on the feeling that was welling in her chest. Part of her was still surprised that no one had given a single protest. Chase had told her that everyone would go along with her being the leader, but a part of her didn’t believe him.

  It was still too early to tell, but Emma was starting to believe. She had only ever played leader because there wasn’t anyone else there ready to fill the position. This was nothing like that at all. She was asked, by Harry, and everyone else seemed to be okay with it. She also came to a realization about herself.

  Emma realized she liked being in charge.

  Chapter Twelve:

  With duties handed out, Emma decided to do her own. Just because she was in charge didn’t mean she was suddenly exempt from doing work.

  Besides, she was still using it as an escape from her sister and the talk they should have.

  The only reason Emma had acknowledged her sister at all was to make everything seem normal for everyone’s sake. Chase had shot her a look, like he was silently telling her to just get it over with when Emma put Merry in the same team as them, then made her team leader.

  He didn’t see how great it was—for her. Because then, as long as she stayed out of the house, she wouldn’t have to deal with Merry for a day. She knew he, would bring food out for her, even if she didn’t ask it, because Chase was always taking care of her. Even now that she didn’t really think she needed it, like had been the case many times before.

  Merry had acted like nothing strange had happened between the two of them, anyway, so there was no reason for her to dwell on it. So Emma went out to work, and she left it at that.

  Emma worked a day out in the field, keeping an eye on everything to ensure it ran smoothly.

  It wasn’t easy. Patrolling would have been easy, but she’d figured she would start with the hardest job first. Not that patrolling didn’t have its hard points, but it was at least something she’d done before, even though it was on a street with a concrete sidewalk, not a farm with fields of crops that rose higher than her head did. It was a wonder Harry could make his way through them.

  Tending a farm was a lot more difficult than tending a patch of garden, where she got on her knees with her grandmother by her side and gloves on. She still got dirty, only the work was a lot harder, and she was so grateful Harry was being free with his food, because she didn’t think she would have expended so much energy on this otherwise.

  She was working with instructions she’d gotten from Harry to guide her. Also, Barbara, who had surprisingly known even more about gardening than she did and actually had experience on a farm. Chase, of course, had parents that owned a small farm but had never actually worked in it himself. She wished she could have someone nearby to ask for help, but aside from the tips they shared early on, they had to separate to cover as much ground as possible each.

  When she finished up, she was tired and sunburnt from being in the sun all day, but didn’t complain. If anything, she was elated.

  This was the kind of work she could get behind, the kind of work that mattered. She’d been a high school teacher before the EMP attack, and though there had been importance with that, too, Emma really wasn’t cut out for the job. She figured it would be easy, teaching English when she was an aspiring writer herself, even though she’d had to put her dream on hold to cater for her family.

  She had been so wrong. She couldn’t get a room full of teenagers to listen to her, and since she always taught the freshman class, she had hell to deal with at the beginning of every school year, and it had gone on for years. She’d resigned herself to a life that made her miserable, had thought of quitting plenty of times but known that she couldn’t. If it hadn’t been for Chase, that job would have broken her.

  Compared to what she’d gone through since, it was a walk in the park.

  But even though she wasn’t suited to farm work and her body ached all over from toiling the day away, she was doing something that would get them all fed, that would earn their keep in Harry’s house, and maybe earn the man’s respect. The ache in her body was a result of her hard work, and she would pick it over stress headaches any time.

  Besides, Harry had left her in charge, and she was determined to prove herself so he wouldn’t regret it.

  She went inside to shower and puts on her pjs. She was tempted to stay longer in the shower with the hot water sluicing down her body. But that would be a waste. She hadn’t asked about the water, and she sighed, wondering how she could have forgotten. She’d just have to find some other time and ask about it. Then, she could have all the hot water she wanted.

  When she went downstairs, it was to find everyone was gathered in the kitchen around a table, all laid out with food. She gaped, wondering where it all came from, because it looked like nothing short of a feast whens he compared it to what they’d had before. They applaud her as she entered and Emma looked around her, confused.

  “Your grouped appreciate your hard work over the past few weeks so much they wanted to celebrate you and your achievements,” Harry told her, coming around the table to stand in front of her. He sounded as proud as he had when he was telling her all about his crops earlier.

  Emma was
flattered. She wanted to protest that she didn’t deserve so much praise, her eyes drifting to her sister who was seated an empty seat away from Chase. But Merry didn’t look bitter, if anything, but there were no looks of resentment, like their last fight never happened. She’d never had something quite like this aimed at her before, and she could feel her face flush with pleasure.

  “Come over here and sit down,” Harry encouraged with a wave at the seat beside Chase’s, his words mirrored by the others.

  She walked slowly around the table. Chase was standing and smiling at her, holding her seat for her, pushing it in as she sat down, and Chase opened a bottle of wine.

  “Harry was nice enough to prepare a large buffet meal for the occasion,” he said with a nod to the man as he filled glasses and handed them around. “We had the kids eat first and go to bed so the adults can relax for s little bit.”

  Finally, he filed two glasses, and handed Emma one. His eyes smiled at her as she took the glass, their fingers brushing, and she didn’t think it was an accident. Her breath hitched in her throat, and it surprised her when he clinked his glass against hers.

  “To you, for going above and beyond for the people that matter to you. Thank you, Emma.”

  Thanks were repeated from around the room, and everybody served the food and tucked in. Even Merry looked happy, especially when Barbara turned on the radio and they all begin to dance.

  She just sat there and stared at everyone. She’d expected a somber group when she returned, not this kind of reception. Though she’d probably been the last to come in, having spent longer out in the field, this must have been in the works for some time because she hadn’t taken all that long in her shower.

  Emma... loved that everyone felt this way. She hadn’t wanted to be in the lead, but this was the kind of thing that made it worthwhile. There hadn’t been someone there to commemorate her efforts before, no matter how much she struggled to move on from day to day. She laughed, feeling the sting of tears in her eyes at the display everyone was putting on, for her sake.

  It was nice to know she was appreciated.

  Chase took Emma’s hand after she’d eaten.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, but he just shot her a wink over his shoulder. She rarely saw him in such a good mood these, she didn’t say anything more. If it was something that made him happy, then if she could, she would try to help.

  She went with him instead of resisting because her mind was still catching up with everything. When she realized what he wanted, her eyes widened, but she laughed and went willingly, loving the happy look on his face that she felt she hadn’t seen in way too long.

  “Dancing of all things?” she scoffed through her laughter.

  Chase just chuckled, pulling her closer. “When was the last time we went dancing?”

  Emma thought back. He kept his eyes back, and she furrowed her brow lightly, shaking her head.

  “I don’t think we’ve ever gone dancing to begin with,” she admitted.

  They’d gone out to bars together, sometimes there were other people around, and there was dancing. But because Emma was a masochist, she had never let herself revel in the fun her friend and colleagues seemed to get into. She was always the one left watching the table and drinking on her own. Or she was sitting at the bar and there was someone hitting on her, or trying to.

  There were the school dances that she didn’t think would count even if she’d danced in any of them. Chapernoning a bunch of teenagers when they were determined to do all the wrong things wasn’t what she called a night of fun. Someone always spiked the punch, or set up pranks to ruin it for everybody else, and for the times she and Chase had been there, they’d spent less time together and more time cleaning up a mess some student made. Chase, as usual, with his good humor, and Emma with annoyance.

  Chase grinned at her as he pulled her body closer to his. “Exactly.”

  She got lost in his eyes for a moment. His eyes looked like normal green eyes, not that she’d seen that many to begin with, but the first time she looked into them when she knew he felt something other than friendship for her, and every time after that. It wasn’t that she saw more of him after, but that she let herself. Even when she’d started thinking of Chase as a romantic interest in her life, she hadn't let herself take it too far. Before she knew, she hadn't believed there was any possibility that he wanted her that way.

  But now that she really looked, she saw all the love and longing that he must have been trying to hide. Only, he hadn't done it well enough. People around Emma had apparently realized he had feelings for her before she knew herself.

  Because she let her mind wander, she didn’t get the meaning of what he was saying for a moment, and when she did, her eyes widened, her mouth opening in a shocked ‘oh.’

  “You wanted to go dancing,” she said slowly.

  His eyes intent on her face, he nodded slowly. And Emma felt her face warm in a dark blush, though she didn’t look away from his gaze, couldn’t. They might as well have been alone for all the attention they were paying to everyone else in the room.

  “Why didn’t you ever say so,” she whispered. Coming from Chase, she wouldn’t have said no.

  His shoulders shrugged, and only when she felt the movement in her arms did she realize she’d moved her hands to rest on his shoulders. His hands pressed at her lower back, and barely any space was left between them. If she stepped forward, their chests would be pressed together, and her body shivered at the thought.

  But neither of them bridged the gap, and Chase gave a fleeting, sad smile that made her heart ache.

  “I guess maybe I was scared?” he said slowly, eyes staring intently into hers. “I don’t really know why I never told you. You told me everything, and there were times I thought I’d have a better chance with you than anyone else. But I just... never made that leap.” His hands tightened on her waist. “I wish I’d said something earlier.”

  Emma chewed on her lip. Honestly, she felt the same way. Things would have been so much simpler and better for everybody that way. But, no matter how much more painful their reality was, Emma wouldn’t change a bit of it, simply because it led to a moment like this.

  “Wanna know a secret?” she murmured.

  His eyebrows shot up, eyes moving casually to her lips. She licked her botHarry lip in response to his gaze, but she knew they couldn’t do that, not with so many people.

  “I wish you did, too,” she whispered, almost too low for him to hear with all the noise, and he ducked his head so their heads were closer. “And if you’d ever asked me to dance with you, I would have done it gladly.”

  The grin he aimed at her was so worth the blush on her face, making her so hot she thought she’d pass out. But Chase pulled her a few steps back, her body following on its own as most of her thoughts fell away.

  And they danced together.

  Chase knew how to move, and Emma should have known. It was amazing, and beautiful, and everything she’d imagined dancing with a prince would be like back when she was younger, before the focus of her stories shifted away from the more romantic fairytales.

  “I wish every day could be like this one,” she told him wistfully as he spun her on an open space in the living room, where they’d shoved the seats to the walls to make room. “That everything could be normal again.”

  She’d pretty much given up on anything normal a while back, but hope was rekindled now, in all of them. Even if this wasn’t their town, wasn’t her parents’ house, she could be happy here, and she wanted to be.

  “I know,” Chase said. “But that maybe one day we can rebuild a new life together.”

  Her eyes widened at the casual words, and she wondered if he knew just how much they meant to her. It had been her dream once, but she’d pretty much written herself off. Even when she had relationships, they didn’t last. Ironically, her longest lasting relationship was her affair with her neighbor, and Chase had known about it and vehemently been against it
for a while. But it wasn’t until it was over that she even thought of Chase as a love interest at all.

  He pulled her close and they swayed together.

  Emma began to dream of marrying Chase, having kids and living out in the countryside. She buried her head in him, smiling.

  Chapter Thirteen:

  Emma arranged a night watch to look after the farm and patrolled the cornfield herself.

  They’d been on Harry’s farm only a few days, and a few of the day patrollers had come back with reports of tampering and theft in the fields.

  She’d had to talk Harry into it, even though she’d initially agreed with him that it was too dangerous. But she’d learned it was better to cut down something like this before it grew to be a bigger problem. She hadn’t expected this kind of problem this soon, and she was prepared to deal with it, having most of everyone else stick near the house. Since the reports came from around the cornfield, she took it alone.

  Chase had disapproved, even though he didn’t outright argue, but she overwrote his concerns. She had the same concerns, which was why she wasn’t willing to send someone else off if she couldn’t do it herself.

  It was the hardest part about being ‘leader’ after all. It was dangerous out there, and she couldn’t just send someone out into it.

  Chase caught her as she walked out, grabbing onto her arm and stopping her on the porch. She just sighed and rolled her eyes, then turned around and arched an eyebrow at him, waiting for the protest he hadn’t voiced before, but was very visible in his face.

  “Let me go with you,” he said.

  Emma wanted to be surprised, but after a second of being taken aback, she realized this was just like Chase. If he wouldn’t stop her, he would try to go with her. He hadn't done it when they were home, when she was going out to volunteer at the police station to help with the town, but she supposed this was different.