The Life After War Collection

by Angela White

  “Is he okay?”

  Kenn’s question was met with scowls and shrugs. “He might be if he gets laid,” Seth answered, staring at his former friend.

  The group burst out laughing, amusement breaking the tension.

  “Maybe we should help him.”

  They all turned to Becky, surprised.

  Becky rested against Seth in a direct violation of camp rules. “Rick hurt Sam, too. I know that. Maybe Neil can help. Like Seth is helping me.”

  They considered the implications and of them all, the clearest was that little Becky had grown up.

  “Hot, steamy showers that last long enough to run out of heat,” Jennifer offered in the silence.

  They had been talking about what they missed most when Kenn and Tonya joined them, and she hadn’t wanted to ruin the calm mood by saying her mom.

  “Mmm. Me, too.” Tonya moaned, also leaning against her man’s big arm. “Except, it was baths. I could spend hours in them.”

  Kenn stored that information and answered like a guy. “The PornHub.”

  The group cackled again, males the loudest.

  “Saturday morning cartoons.”

  The campfire group stared at Seth in surprise.

  He flushed darkly, body rigid as he shared his private agony for the first time. “My daughter, Bella. She loved the damn things, and I…I loved her.”

  Becky slid her hand over his, marveling at how much their skin looked alike. If only she could count on that! “You lost her in the war?”

  Seth’s voice was thick with anguish. “Never found a sign.”

  Becky understood that, in a small way, coming to her rescue had been something driven by the death of his daughter. Right at that moment, she’d been Bella, needing him. He hadn’t been able to help his daughter, but saving Becky had freed him from some of his guilt at surviving when Bella hadn’t.

  “That’s why you search the new arrivals?”

  “Yes.”

  Understanding how hard her choices would be on him, she tried to lend him her comfort. “I’ll help you look from now on.”

  Caught in his own moment of healing, Seth stared at her. “You’re good for me, too. I didn’t expect that.”

  “I think the same can be said of everyone around this fire,” Kenn stated, a bit stunned.

  They’d each had their trials and survived, because they’d had someone to help them. It was that part of the human spirit that nature, or any other enemy, would never understand. Together, they were stronger.

  8

  When Matt stepped under the mess canopy, there was a loud round of snickering and laughter that turned his cheeks bright red. He hadn’t spoken a single word after the attack, just moved into his tent and gotten dressed. After that, he’d gone to do his usual chores, but on the inside...

  Matt’s hands were in his pockets, drawing attention from those who knew how on the edge he was.

  Jennifer and Charlie stood up at the same time, but Matt had counted on them. He was ready.

  Moving without his usual clumsiness, Matt pulled the tightly filled balloon from his pocket. “You all think it’s funny? Try laughing now!”

  The stink bomb exploded, sending the deep reek of fresh feces across the eating crowd. Seth and Kyle were smart enough to grab their females and get them out of the zone, but most of the camp wasn’t as lucky. The sounds of gagging and vomiting echoed through the night.

  Matt didn’t run from the Eagles as they rushed his way. He wasn’t done yet.

  The second balloon bomb was ammonia, and the harsh fumes dropped all of the males crushing each other in their attempts to get to him.

  “Clear the area!” Adrian shouted, motioning for the canopy to be taken down.

  Ducking under the cloud that Matt was busy inhaling deeply from, Adrian tackled the teenager and sent them both rolling through the dirt outside the mess.

  Adrian started to shake the boy until his teeth rattled and then realized Matt wasn’t breathing.

  “Medic!”

  9

  “You want me to do what?”

  “Put Kevin on hold and spend that time on Matt,” Angela repeated evenly.

  “One is a good man, and the other is a kid who just tried to kill half the camp!” Cynthia sputtered. “Are you nuts?”

  “Matt needs a hope for the future, or we’ll leave his body on the side of the road in the morning,” Angela grunted. “Is that what you want?”

  No, Cynthia realized. She liked Matt, had thought she was making progress.

  “You are,” Angela assured. “He was pushed today.”

  Angie quickly filled Cynthia in on the port-o-let incident and was satisfied by the anger she saw there.

  “When Kevin asks why, you say FND work. He’ll wait.”

  Cynthia’s eyes snapped to hers, and Angela smiled, one of those hard, female exchanges that brooked no disobedience. “Get...close to the boy, show him there’s another world, and I’ll take you with me for the next three runs into any city after Arkansas. As XO.”

  “Wow.” Cynthia’s greedy heart made her agree. “What exactly do you want me to do?”

  “Help him, like Seth and Kyle have done with their abused charges,” Angela’s voice lowered. “Love him. It’s what he needs the most.”

  Cynthia didn’t respond, instead moving for the flap. She had to think about this one. It went against her beliefs, but more than that, it might make her an outcast with the camp again, and she’d just gotten in. It would be temporary, until Matt was strong enough to stand on his own, but...

  Cynthia felt Kevin staring at her from his place on duty over the supply trucks. I was looking forward to that date!

  10

  Matt opened his eyes to find himself still alive. It was the last thing he expected and tears began to stream down his cheeks. He didn’t want to be here anymore!

  “Matt?”

  Cynthia’s voice made him stiffen in fury. “Get out!” Matt blinked at his barely audible croak.

  “It’s the ammonia. Should wear off.”

  Cynthia took the chair next to his bed, ignoring the scowling Eagle in the corner who was Matt’s guard. “If you had used bleach with it, we’d all be dead now.”

  Matt was too wrapped up in his own mind to care. “I couldn’t find any.”

  Cynthia and the guard stored that. Matt really had tried to kill everyone. The camp thought it was an awful prank.

  “Why are you here?”

  Cynthia took his hand gently, glad when the boy didn’t pull away. “I’m your friend. Where else should I be?”

  Matt recoiled. “I don’t have any friends!”

  “Sure you do,” Cynthia soothed, leaning closer. She used her feminine powers of persuasion, carefully. “And I care.”

  Matt wasn’t sure how she meant it and didn’t ask. There was nothing she could offer that would bring him back from the dark side.

  “Matt?”

  He looked up, still worshiping her, still wanting what his slowly maturing body was whispering of. “Why are you here?”

  At his repeated question, Cynthia let her fingers rub his, not grimacing at the feel of his rough skin. “To offer you an arrangement.”

  The Eagle in the corner tensed, sensing what was coming. That someone higher up than the reporter had arranged this, Billy had no doubt.

  “A what?”

  “An arrangement.” Cynthia let go of Matt’s hand and slowly stroked a soft finger down his pale wrist. “I want you to live with me.”

  Matt’s skin flushed under her attention, and Cynthia pushed harder, cringing at the thought of this story flying through the camp. “For the next month, you’ll live with me.”

  Matt couldn’t speak, but his mind was working perfectly. He was getting his heart’s fondest wish instead of Kyle’s bullet.

  “Why?”

  “We’ll atone together.”

  “You’re lying!” Matt accused hoarsely. “It’s FND!”

  The boy shoved her
hand away. “Don’t want your pity, bitch!”

  Cynthia delivered a light slap to Matt’s mouth. “Ms. bitch.”

  Matt’s hand came up to his mouth, eyes filling with fury. “I won’t take...”

  Slap!

  Matt’s arm came up to hit her back, and Cynthia nodded. “I’ll let you get one in, and then I’m beating your ass.”

  Matt hesitated.

  Cynthia watched his arm go down. “Wise choice.”

  She handed him a paper from the front pocket of her shirt, his cicada drawing.

  “The boy who gave me that said art was his only dream. Is that still true?”

  Matt slowly shook his head.

  “Good, ‘cause I have needs to be serviced, and I’m asking you to see to them.”

  Matt was floored by the adult conversation, by the smell of her and the concern in her eyes. “You want me?”

  Cynthia gave him a soft smile and avoided the question. “Is that a yes?”

  Matt nodded quickly. He would live with Cynthia!

  “Good. I’ll arrange it with Adrian. When John releases you, you’ll come straight to me. Understand?”

  “Yes...” Matt didn’t know how to express his emotions and tears welled again.

  Cynthia gave him a sharp pinch on the wrist that snapped his attention back. “No more tears, Matt, unless you just can’t keep from it. Okay?”

  “Okay,” he agreed, wiping them away. He would have a new life now, one where crying wasn’t needed.

  Cynthia slowly opened her arms to him and let the teenager curl into her protective embrace. She’d done what Angela wanted and claimed Matt. Wtf?

  Billy listened to the deal with only a little surprise. What would have been shocking was if Adrian hadn’t tried to save the boy. These methods might seem extreme to the camp, who wanted Matt and Mitch tossed out, but Billy thought this was a good idea. In time, Cynthia might even come to care for Matt.

  It would leave Kevin on the outside, but it was a needed sacrifice for the dream. Banishing Mitch and Matt would hurt Adrian and that man was currently suffering enough. He didn’t need another weight on his shoulders. Watching Marc love Angie was more than enough to bring things down. They didn’t need any more help.

  Chapter Eighteen

  This is Safe Haven

  See Safe Haven’s Route of Travel

  https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=201819586205862863011.0004da5b4fa955f9b1636&msa=0

  1

  “Are you sure?” Kenn asked. They’d just pulled into sight of their target. Last night’s horrors weren’t forgotten, just replaced with the next ones to come.

  Adrian stared at the demolished city with a fierce determination that had the Eagles on guard taking repeated glances at his face.

  “Yes. More of our people are down there, and we’re going to go get them,” Adrian replied.

  Kenn didn’t doubt that, he was just leery of the chore. Going into a city that hadn’t been leveled was dangerous. Going into one that had been toppled over like dominoes was near suicide. They didn’t even know where in all those miles of collapsed buildings that they needed to search, though Kenn was sure Angela could help.

  Kenn was almost certain he’d get to go this time, and he was eager to leave Samantha, John, and Brady with the responsibility of leadership. He wasn’t as fond of it as he had been before Adrian’s hiatus with the slavers.

  “Do a long lunch out of sight. Double the guard, with Marc and John as first and second in command while we’re clearing, but tell Samantha they might need help.”

  Kenn wrote it in his notebook, the sixth one Adrian had given him, not upset that Marc would be in charge. Most of their fighting was over, had been since he’d realized that Marc could have taken his place all along. Besides, Marc might be in charge for a day, but he wouldn’t have an easy time of it. Safe Haven was hard to handle when the boss wasn’t here.

  Adrian jumped down from the idling semi before Kenn could ask any of the dozen questions that came to mind, slamming the door.

  Kenn picked up the mike, and seconds later, the lines of waiting jeeps, cars, trucks, and vans began to come around, using the smooth technique they’d been taught. All it took was patience, but sometimes that was the hardest thing to come by. The last vehicle in line, full of level Seven Eagles, backed up in a wide circle and pulled around, freeing up space for the vehicles in front of them to do the same, alternating.

  A lone Blazer broke the chain, and people stared as Angela pulled onto the shoulder.

  The simple ballet continued, but with even one missing, the magic was broken.

  Angela parked next to the rig and got out, giving Kenn a casual glance as she went by. She could feel his jealousy, the small flashes of the past he was still battling. His greedy, resentful thoughts bounced off the cab walls, and she tuned him out. Everyone was having a rough morning. It was mostly the same with Kenn when she checked, though. Marc was still at the top of his shit list. Adrian took a small recorder from his pocket. “Mitch got this two nights ago. It’s the same every time, and it’s broadcasting over a lot of waves.”

  He hit play.

  “Say again.”

  Thick static came in response.

  “This is Safe Haven,” Mitch called again. “We are an American Red Cross convoy. Who is calling?”

  Static again, and then a very young voice floated out of the tape player, horrifying Angela as she registered the fear and helplessness behind it.

  “The grownups left us! We need help!”

  It was whispered but clear, even though odd noises in the background should have drowned it out.

  “Where are you, honey?” Mitch asked, not as steady now.

  Angela flinched at the awful cry in the background. The child waited for it to stop, and it did, in a long, unbroken howl of agony that finally ran out of breath.

  “Little Rock. Hurry! They’re closer!”

  “Where exactly? We’ll come and get you!” Mitch’s tenor was full of outrage and worry as he tried to find out where the abandoned kids were.

  Static garbled the transmission.

  “You’re breaking up! Say again!”

  There was only more fuzz, and Adrian switched the recording off.

  “He tried them for the next two hours and got nothing. We heard it on another channel yesterday. Same message, different kid. We won’t be the only ones hunting them.”

  Angela closed her lids. “Play it again.”

  He did, and they both winced at the loud moan when it came.

  Angela pushed, stretched, listened. When Adrian cut it off, her lids snapped open.

  “Trapped on the East side, near the flooding.”

  He ignored the tone of the dead that was coming from her lips. “I want to go in and get them.”

  “And if it’s a trap, if we’re ambushed?”

  “We go in assuming it is. I’ve planned for it.”

  Angela concentrated on the unrecognizable city below them. They were down there. She could feel the kids waiting to be captured and killed, or rescued, and she couldn’t even find a way in. It was all pile after pile of rancid debris.

  “Let me worry about that,” Adrian told her. He blew out a tired breath, staring at his people as they began to make camp with Marc completely in charge for the first time. “We’ve observed armed men. They dress like cowboys, but act like soldiers. I need to know if they are.”

  Adrian waited as patiently as he could while she searched.

  “They’re not all from the same branch. Bounty hunters, I think. There’s a small group on duty inside that mobile home,” she warned. “They’re waiting for us. Word has spread about what we’ve done.”

  Adrian was now the one frowning. Eliminating the slavers was only a small part of the death his army would end up dealing out.

  “Mercs are as bad as slavers,” he stated gently, a bit unsure how to bring it up to her. Neither of them was fully recovered from the last massacre. “If they–”

&nbs
p; “If they follow us in, they won’t come out,” Angela cut him off.

  Skipping over the lecture on duty that she obviously didn’t need, he gave her a stern glance. “Stay close to me once we’re in.”

  Angela frowned suddenly. “You should watch your six on this run…closely.”

  Adrian tensed. “You know something I don’t?”

  Her daze cleared slowly. “Something about a bad decision? I’m not sure.”

  “We make those every day,” Adrian stated.

  They laughed halfheartedly, but Adrian took her words to heart.

  “I’ll keep you out of the ugliness as much as I can.”

  “I need a map.”

  Adrian pulled one from his pocket, putting the tape player away. “We’ll go down after dark. Be in the mess in half an hour.”

  He turned from her many questions, like what would happen if she couldn’t convince the kids to come out and at least talk.

  She walked slowly to her Blazer, searching what used to be Little Rock, Arkansas. There were no landmarks to use. The entire city was crumbled on top of itself like broken Lego blocks, making it almost impossible to tell where one building started or ended. The only thing to navigate by was the Arkansas River, which was now surrounding Little Rock on three sides due to post-war flooding. That mass of scummy liquid would be a nightmare for Safe Haven to cross.

  Adrian lingered a few feet from the truck. He knew that Kenn was impatient to get started, but it was quiet here, and he could think. It was foolish to risk their lives again so soon, for what would probably be so few, but his heart demanded that he at least try. His blood was down there in that hell, alive and waiting for him to fulfill his promise, and he would. Adrian gave the death trap below one last lingering glance and then joined Kenn.

  Kenn had his pen ready when Adrian opened the semi door. The boss man began speaking as he shifted the big rig into gear, and Kenn copied it exactly with a lightly trembling hand.

  Its excitement, Kenn told himself. They were about to go into battle again, and this time he was second in command for the run.

  2