Chapter 69
“You have almost tripled all the plants in size, I am going to need to find a new job.” I joke after they finish notating.
“You have the magic touch and creative mind. Besides, you wanted to play with plant genetics back in school, here’s your playground.” She says, and I smile.
"Now then, I believe I promised a certain someone I would keep your mind off that unnamed person so let’s go help with something!" Violet says, not so mysteriously.
"Just because you do not say Xavier's name, does not mean that is the first conclusion I come too." I reply with a smirk, my thoughts clouded with worry now. "Although, didn't work, distract me please."
"I am worried too, but we have to trust in them." Sonji stressed to me, and I nod. "Now, I believe Avyanna was going to work on a huge dinner for tonight, a good welcome to the new members. Want to go help?"
Violet smiles encouragingly, and we head off to the kitchen. Avyanna, Bella, and Phoenix are sweeping around the kitchen in a practiced ease and Sonji helps me set up near one of the lower tables. Phoenix hands me a huge bowl of potatoes to peel and I get to work.
"What is for dinner?" I ask, and Avyanna turns to me with a smile.
"Roast with the full sides. James had some success butchering one of the farm animals, and Anthony helped. We have enough animals that if we take sparely we could build a good population. The freezer downstairs has the rest of the animal."
I shudder, and Violet laughs from where she is chopping carrots. "You can do surgery on a living person, but you can't butcher a dead farm animal?"
"Look, I can't explain it, its just how I have always been. Will attempted to teach me to clean a fish but one spine twitch from a touched nerve and I refused to do that again."
"That just doesn't make sense, but okay." Phoenix giggles, helping Avyanna make the sauce for the roast.
"Just count me out of that chore please, unless you want to watch me toss cookies."
The kitchen rings with laughter as we work on dinner. Everyone takes turns preparing, them bringing me various foods to peel and chop. Time passes as we fill bowls of ingredient to add when Avyanna asks, Bella helping with coating the roast in sauce. Phoenix and Sonji begin to work on the sides, and the time passes quickly as we have fun.
"Oh my god, it smells amazing in here." James comments, coming to grab a glass of water. "Good job girls, I can't wait for dinner."
"Save room!" Avyanna demands, and James nods.
"For your food, anything." He jokes, and she cracks a smile.
"Only a few more hours, let my boyfriend come back to me first." She says, and he salutes.
As we finish up cleaning my mind drifts back to Xavier, and I pray he is safe. Bella and Avyanna each take one side of the pan and slid it into the over, setting the thermometer and timer up. I wave and wheel myself out to the main hall, realizing they had distracted me enough we only had an hour left to wait on the raiding party.
Chapter 70
"Well, do you want to stare out the window like a wife checking for her husband coming back from war or do you want me to grab your favourite book for you?" Violet teased, reminding me of the fact we had my books here now.
"I totally forgot about those, what happened to those boxes?"
"We hauled them upstairs to your room and we were going to let you set them up when you can get up the stairs again. Which should be soon, your body did a lot of healing while you were knocked out after the infection. Really, its just building your muscles back up. We could pass the time by doing your therapy, Lynx left me the master sheet in case you wanted to do it before she gets back."
I groan, then realize it would take my mind off it. Violet rubs her hands together and goes to the nurse’s office, grabbing my weights and various torture/recovery devices.
"Alright, let's start with your arms." She announces, Sonji helping when she joined us.
The session passes slowly, my muscles shaking from the effort by the end, but I feel better. Just as Violet takes the weight back from me, the raiding party pulls up in my car, Xavier driving.
"I didn't realize he could drive stick shift either." I mumble, a smile breaking across my face as I know he is safe.
"Who knows, they decided on that car because its in awesome shape and somewhat good at off road. They weren't sure what they would run into and Phoenix prefers to drive her Jeep, so that was out." Violet explains, and relief clear on her face as everyone gets out, seemingly unharmed.
"We have returned with presents!" Xavier announces, his eyes lighting up when he sees me. "Especially for you, my beloved."
"Sure, don't mention the other seven or eight boxes of stuff we found." Lynx says sarcastically, placing one of those boxes down and going for another.
Liam and Lee appear from no where and help bring the boxes in. Xavier drops to his knees in front of me and I raise one eyebrow.
"This better not be a proposal." I comment, and he laughs, rifling through his bag, before bringing out something metal with straps.
"A knee brace meant for after an injury to take some of the weight off. We grabbed a few so this is yours forever." He takes my leg gently and begins to set up the brace, finishing in about five minutes.
He holds his hand out to me, and I take it, unbuckling myself from the chair. Galexai came up to help me if needed, her eyes examining the brace, returning from her chores assigned today. Dustin, Jessa, Alexander and Rachel join everyone in the hall, helping bring our goods in.
"I got you." He whispers reassuringly, and I stand, gently adding more weight to my knee.
It doesn't make pain shoot up my leg, and I catch Xavier's eyes, mine shining in happiness. "This is doable, I have no pain and am standing fully balanced. Does this mean I can ditch the wheelchair?"
"Only if you promise to use it if it starts to hurt again. We are going for minimal lifetime damage here." Lynx instructs, and I nod. "Plus, he forgot to show you the other thing we found for you."
He pulls a crutch out from the Rav4 and I groan, him coming to stand beside me to adjust it. "I know, but you could always smack someone over the head with it as a weapon."
He helps me stand with it and shows me how to walk, everyone disappearing with the boxes to put them away, telling me about the raid while he does so. "We got a bunch more medical supplies and tools, along with some other things we thought would be helpful. Fought a few infected and raiders but not too many issues after we showed what firepower we had by blowing up their vehicle. They ran pretty fast after that."
"We also stole some more sheets because I feel like between the lot of us we will need a ton more bedsheets." Anthony explained, hauling a garbage bag full of sets.
"If you happen upon a sewing kit, my Mom liked to remake clothes in her spare time, I can easily repair sheets an such as she taught me." I tell Anthony, who nods.
"We have the fashion room on second floor near the back of the school, they have some in there" Violet mentions, and I snap my fingers together, remembering.
"There totally is, well that solves that issue. I mean at some point we are going to be pretty much making our own clothes, so I might want to begin refining those skills now." I say to myself partly, and Violet injects by volunteering herself as well.
"I was in that fashion class, we got you."
"Anyways, that dinner smells amazing and as much as I love you, we are starving. Didn't stop, too excited to come home and beat the deadline." He hugs me quickly, then we walk to the cafeteria.
My knee now clicks with the movement of the brace, but it took a lot of the pain away, my leg having some back-up. Slowly everyone began to filter into the cafeteria, and I helped bring light food out to the buffet table, restricted from carrying anything heavy by my overprotective friends.
"You guys, we haven't had a home cooked dinner in so long, this looks amazing! You could have told us food over the radio and we all would have come running." Alexander joked and started the lineup to grab food.
"I heard you are the one who masterminded the greenhouse and farm." She compliments, digging into her food, her honey eyes shining.
"I made the idea a reality by bring supplies, then got knocked out for a few weeks with an infection from my knee, so Sonji and Violet put it into fruition." I respond, Xavier returning and sliding in beside me. "Thanks, love."
James sits across from us, his eyes only for Rachel as he looked at her adoringly. I kicked him from under the table and he stopped staring, his cheeks pink as he digs into the food.
"It is incredible. You guys took the end of the world with ease."
"I wouldn't say it was easy, a lot of the people here have buried people they were close too in the past few months. But sticking together we have managed well, and we are always willing to help other nice people out, we won't leave anyone out in the cold, that’s for sure." Xavier explains, and Rachel nods as she eats. "Speaking of which, I should talk to your group and see when we can start working on at least an immunity booster to give to everyone."
"You should talk to Jessa and Galexai, they helped out the most and loved science when we went to school together." Rachel points with her fork to where the two girls are, their heads pressed close together as they laugh at something Dustin said.
"Awesome, between them, myself, and Sonji we can figure it out I am sure. I'll ask Idris if we can form a task force for a little bit." He finishes his bite of food before turning to Idris, updating him in a soft voice.
"So, you guys all went to this school?" She asks, and I finish chewing before speaking.
"Most of us did. We found Sonji and Lynx barred up in the office, they had run away from where they were originally from. Bella and Phoenix showed up in the middle of the night and joined our squad. Bella had an Aunt down here but when we went to investigate we found her dead and a bunch of alive raiders."
"And a bullet found my torso." Lee cheerily commented, and Rachel looked at him with a shocked look. "Xavier, Sonji and Geneva saved my life. It's what we do as friends, look out for each other and help when needed."
"I didn't realize you know medical as well." She commented to me, and I shrugged.
"We all have a variety of talents and use it when we can. Xavier is really the doctor of the group, I am more of an assistant with a strong stomach to help when needed. Sonji is a genius as well, and Liam had to learn fast how a kneecap works while reconstructing a metal knee for me. Violet could tell you every plant in the greenhouse off the leaf alone, and Liam works with electricity mainly, so everything from appliances to solar panels. Idris keeps a better schedule then anyone else I know for everyone else but himself, don't ask how that makes sense, we have no idea. Phoenix and Lynx could easily kick someone's ass, they teach the self defense classes we hold now. Bella and Avyanna are amazing at cooking, James knows what each animal we keep eats and how to keep them healthy. Anthony can build anything, and Dainan can bring cars back from the brink of death and make them drive another hundred thousand." I point to each person subtly as I list them, and she nods. "We mix it up though, so not just one person has those skills, like in the case of me or worse. While I was incapacitated, Sonji, Violet and Liam kept the greenhouse going."
"That makes a lot of sense. I would love to learn more about the farming, animals and planting. My family grew up on a farm so if James needs a hand, I would love to learn the rules here."
"Yes." James said simply, and I glared at him from behind my hair. "I mean, I will ask Idris to get you assigned to farm chores and for sure. I will always welcome someone who doesn't mind. Plus, the pets in the school as well. I am not surprised you haven't seen the cats, but I will let Maggie in the cafe once we are done eating."
"James, you are amazing for taking care of her, thank you. I have missed her, and I think I can fend her off from injuring me now. I want to see my baby." I thank him, and Xavier chuckles.
"Fine, you can see her. But I am staying right here by your bad leg, just in case." Xavier announced, and I rolled my eyes, Rachel seeing and laughing.
We finish eating quickly and Jessa stands with Bella and Phoenix, helping clean up dinner. I notice how easily the five seem at home and smile, soon it will be like we are all one big, happy family. Once we are all sitting at the table again, Dustin and Idris stand, side by side at the head and we turn our attention to them.
Chapter 71
"I hope everyone had a great day. I would like to extend thanks to Xavier, Lynx and Anthony who went on a dangerous raid and came back safely. The items are bonuses compared to you guys being in one piece. Yesterday we had discussed giving our new friends a few days break, but Dustin wishes to sign up for watches, Violet, can I leave that to you?" He asks, and she nods, and I put my hand up.
"No, you just came out of a coma. No way am I putting you back on for at least a week." Violet responds immediately, and the table laughs. "Rest, Geneva. I mean it."
I sigh, turning my attention back to Idris. "So tonight, everyone is just going to rest, check the chart at the end of the hall and set your alarms please!"
I stand up, and everyone turns to me. "How about we grab some pillows and chairs, and all gather in the front hall? We can keep watch while getting to know each other a bit better?"
Everyone turns to their neighbour and nods, then begin to stand in groups at a time. "I like this idea, let's do it. We can sleep later."
"It's only seven o'clock, we all used to stay up til well past midnight, easy." I tease, and Idris rolls his eyes.
Jessa and Rachel follow Liam to the kitchen to help with clean-up, the rest of us leaving to arrange the front hall. Xavier and Sonji make sure I am sat on the bench that is in the middle of the floor before disappearing to get more chairs. Lynx sits down heavily beside me, and I turn to her with an eyebrow raised.
"My leg hurts every now and then, something about digging metal out of muscle that causes it to ache." She smirks, massaging the spot she was shot.
"I have no idea what that feels like." I respond, pointedly looking at the metal trap around my leg.
"At least it's mainly healed. If you weren't in a coma I am pretty sure Violet would have tied, you to the bed to make you recover. You don't like to sit down, do you?" She asks, and my tone turns serious.
"I don't like not helping because I feel like I am not pulling my weight. I am a weak part of the team right now and want to help even if it hurts me. I guess it's just wired into my DNA to do that."
"Lynx is right, I would have tied you to the bed. But you have done so much for us over the years, let yourself rest and us take care of you for once." Violet implores, and Liam chimes in.
"You saved my life already, and all of us would agree you have bent over backwards to help us since we have known you."
"Just fucking chill." Anthony comments, and the serious mood is broken, laughter ringing out.
"I love you guys, and I promise to attempt to rest. But you have my full permission to incapacitate me if need be." I joke, and we all laugh harder.
Now everyone has joined us, either leaning against walls or sitting on blankets, couples near each other. Dainan propped open the back-hall door so we can listen in case something happens. Dustin clears his throat and we turn to him.
"You all went to school here?" He asks, and the original group nods.
"We did, one year away from graduating. Guess that’s never going to happen." Idris laughs.
"Maybe we could hold a fake graduation ceremony in a year." Violet suggests. "How about you guys?"
"We came from a small town just outside of Tillsonburg, and we all went to the same school. Our families had been friend's for years so we all grew up with each other. When everything went to hell we packed up and left, deciding to travel rather than wait around for something to eat us. We heard you on Alexan
der's truck's CB radio, and came here."
"Thanks for doing a tune up on her Dainan, helped a lot. She sounds ten years younger." Alexander pitched in, and Dainan shrugged.
"No problem. We got lucky that this place has a car lift in the old auto shop, helps a lot."
"We never actually asked how old you all were?" Bella asks.
"We are all either eighteen or nineteen, so we only have a few years on you guys." Jessa answered, smiling at Bella.
We passed evening exchanging stories about our lives, learning Dustin had grown up in Saudi Arabia, and Jessa was aspiring to be a vet before this happened. Galexai liked learning about medicine, but also loved nature. Rachel was a farm girl, which the others just learned. Everyone was joyful for the first time in a long time, and it was one of the best nights we had ever had. Soon people began to taper off one by one, Sonji and Lynx being one of the first couples to leave, followed by Galexai then Liam, separately.
"Want to go to bed soon? I can carry you up the stairs, it just felt weird to be apart, better to keep an eye on you too." Xavier whispered as I suppressed a yawn.
"Probably be good, do you know when your watch is?"
"Technically it was while we were sitting here, I think Violet had a hand in that."
I looked to my best friend who smiled, eyes sparkling. I mouth 'thank you' as I am suddenly swept into Xavier's arms, careful of my bad knee. We wave goodnight and he brings me upstairs. He places me down on our bed and grabs a glass of water and my nightly antibiotics. I take them quickly, and then he helps me to the bathroom for my nightly routine. He leaves as I brush my hair and teeth, using the bathroom as well. I limp out of the door and he is leaning against the hall, helping me back to our room.
"You still are limping, does it hurt?" He observes, and I smile weakly.
"Well half of it is not natural materials for the human body, I think my body is still adjusting to it."
"Let me know if it swells, no more infections, got it." He ordered, and I smirked.
"Yes, sir."
Friends Against The World (Book 1): Bite Me Page 26