The air whooshes out of him in relief and he’s back to smiling.
“Are Matty and Rex ok? Are they coming over? I’m so happy you changed your mind Sky! Can we have another pizza party sleep over soon? I’m sorry I was so mean to you!”
He doesn’t give me a chance to respond because he’s throwing himself into my arms and burrowing his head against me in the same spot another child did as I carried her to safety. I’m back to being his hero and awesome sister but I know it’s not going to last so I just hold him tight against me and enjoy his love as long as I can. When he finally starts to wiggle I set him down and take him by the shoulders.
“Ben, do you know how much I love you? Do you know what I would do to protect you?”
His little face lights up and he nods.
“Good, it’s important that you understand that everything I do is to keep you safe. You were only half right in all those things you said to me. It was the right thing to do to let all those people into the barracks. They would have died out there and we have so much here that can help them. They’ll be safe now and have lots of food and water and heat and shelter to give them a better life. But, that doesn’t mean that they are safe for US! We know a couple of people in that group but there are over a hundred we don’t know. I will NOT ever put you in danger again or take a chance on it happening again.
"They will stay on their side and we will stay on ours. You can be mad at me if you want and you can not talk to me if you want, BUT you will NOT say mean things to me like you did last time! It’s my job to keep you safe and I will do it no matter what you think. When you’re older, you’ll understand. Until then, we go back to the way it was before. School work, chores and some fun but it’s just going to be us.”
His face is full of thunder and he opens his mouth to say something but changes his mind and clamps it shut before pulling away from my hands and turning away. I watch him walk to his room and quietly shut his door. Ok then, that’s that. It might take some time but one day we’ll get back to normal. I hope.
I’m exhausted and my face is starting to really hurt so I head to the bathroom to take a shower and wash away the stressful day. What I see in the bathroom mirror makes me wince. I have six bright red welts that look almost like blisters on my face. The biggest one is on the side of my forehead and it hurts the most. I lean closer to get a better look and go to push my hair away from my face but the hair keeps coming out in my hand. I’m stunned as I reach up and run my hands through my hair a few more times causing even more of the strands to break away. Not only had the acid rain burnt my face but it had burnt through some of my hair too. Most of the damage is on the very front because I had flipped my hood up just after it had started raining. Looks like I’m going to have bangs.
The shower soothes the burns slightly but the burn cream I apply helps the most. By the time I’m done playing hairdresser and cutting the damaged hair away I’m completely wiped out. I quietly walk past Ben’s closed door and blow it a kiss good night. He might be mad at me, but he’s safe and that’s enough for me right now.
Chapter Nine - Rex
I’m helping Marsh set up tables for dinner when the computer voice of AIRIA comes out of the ceiling causing a few screams of surprise and lots of jumps from the people around me.
“Rex Larson, Ethan unknown last name, Lance unknown last name authorization increased from red to yellow. Would you like a tutorial of my functions now?”
I know right away that Sky’s changed our authorization levels but I don’t think we should have this conversation with AIRIA’s voice booming out across the whole cavern.
“AIRIA, give us a few minutes to get together and we’ll get back to you for that tutorial.”
“Rex Larson, standing by.”
Marsh waves me off so I go looking for Ethan and Lance. I head straight to the medical clinic knowing that it would take a crow bar to pull Ethan away from there right now. The guy’s like a kid in a candy store with all those clean shiny cupboards filled with medicine magic. As I round the last set of bunks at that end of the cavern I see Lance heading that way too. I wait outside the door for him to catch up and we go in together. As soon as the doors open we hear AIRIA through the speakers set in the ceiling. She’s talking about different types of antibiotics and where they are stored and how to prepare them from the current powdered state they are in. Obviously Ethan didn’t waste any time getting his tutorial.
We stand there listening for a few minutes before Lance finally breaks in.
“Ethan, can you hold on with the medical stuff for a minute?”
Ethan swings around from the counter where he had been taking notes in surprise. He hadn’t even heard us come in.
“Oh, yes, of course. Uhh, computer stop.”
Lance looks at me with a raised eyebrow as if to say “What now?” so I just shrug and start talking.
“Uh, AIRIA, can you not share everything we talk about with the whole cavern please?”
“Rex Larson, I will contain all responses to your queries to whatever section of the barracks you are in. Unfortunately, the acoustics of the main cavern will carry our communications quite a distance. I would suggest for privacy you only address your questions to me in one of the enclosed spaces such as this clinic or the offices where I can limit my responses to the speakers in those areas.”
Lance nods and asks me, “Can you ask it about that yellow level thing and what it means?”
Before I can explain that he can ask himself, AIRIA does.
“Lance last name unknown, you may address me yourself. The three of you in this room have been given a yellow authorization level. Do you wish the full range of authorizations that entails or just the basics. Skylar Ross has told me that all details are not always needed at all times. She prefers just the basics most of the time.”
I can’t help but smile at that. I can almost hear Skylar saying “Just the basics AIRIA.” in an impatient tone.
Lance looks at both of us again before finally addressing the ceiling.
“AIRIA, first thing, my last name is Malone and Ethan’s last name is Gains. Second, just the basics for now will be fine.”
“Lance Malone, yellow authorization allows you to address me with questions and I will respond to the best of my abilities. I will not respond to the others without authorization from yellow or higher. You can control the locks of all rooms except the armory and connecting main doors to secondary cavern which needs a green authorization to open.
Educational tutorials are available on a wide variety of subjects as well as video archives that can be viewed on computers in the office area or on a projector that is in storage. That’s the basics. In-depth tutorial is available at your convenience. Feel free to ask any other questions at any time. I am at your disposal.”
Lance has a thoughtful look on his face and nods. “Thank you AIRIA. That’s all for now.” He looks over at Ethan, “Can you pull yourself away from here for a bit? I’d like to go take a look at these offices and I think the food will be ready pretty soon.”
I can’t help but laugh when Ethan slowly nods his head as he looks longingly over his shoulder at the open cupboard doors. At least I’ll know where to find him for the next month or year.
I take them over to the offices and we poke around and turn on a few screens before we find a door that leads into a set of rooms behind the offices. There are five suites that must be for the officers because they are way nicer than the main barracks. Each suite has a bedroom with a queen size bed and a living area with a kitchenette and its own bathroom with tub and shower. Right away Lance claims these rooms as ours. I have to admit, it’ll be nice to have some privacy from the main group. We don’t really know any of them that well and except for the few days in the hotel, we’ve been on our own for seven years. It’s Ethan who voices a concern over it.
“Lance, don’t you think the others will be upset if we take the best picks for ourselves? I don’t really want a war starting in t
his place.”
Lance shakes his head. “Honestly, I don’t really care what they think. We aren’t even responsible for those people. We did the right thing by getting them out of the hotel and town but it was their decision to stay under Ted’s thumb all these years. If Skylar hadn’t let us in here, we would have most likely left that group altogether. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy they’re in here and safe but I have no interest in babysitting them all. We will have to work together and try and make some kind of society but we will continue to look after our group first.” He looks over at me. “Rex, what do you think? You’re the reason we’re here. Skylar let us in because of you and Matty and she gave us the higher authorization because she trusts us a fraction more than the others. Do you think we should take these suites for our group or have some kind of lottery for them?”
I think about it for a moment but I honestly don’t know what the right answer is. I know there has to be some sort of balance or the other group will eventually start looking at us with jealousy and I’ve already seen what that can lead to.
“Well, there’s about twenty offices out there that we don’t really need so I say we take these for ourselves and then keep two offices for organization work. The rest we empty out of desks and put bunks into. They can be for family units. If there are more families than offices we can do a lottery with some kind of rotation. As for us keeping these to ourselves, well, Lance is right. Nobody would be in here if Skylar hadn’t trusted me, so for now they’re ours.”
Both Ethan and Lance nod before Lance says, “Good, let’s go eat!”
As soon as we came close to the tables, the intoxicating smell of fresh baked bread hit us and we all groaned in appreciation.
“Wow, that’s impressive. How did they make bread so fast?” Ethan asked.
I have to grin, “They didn’t. Skylar made it all before she let us in. They just had to warm it and bake it.”
Ethan shook his head and said with a sad tone, “That girl has a complex.” At my confused looks he explained. “She’s all about taking care of others but she won’t let anyone take care of her. That’s not good. One of these days, it’ll break her.”
As we walk the rest of the way to the tables that are starting to fill up with hungry refugees I think about Ethan’s words. I think he’s right and I think that she’s already starting to break. I just wonder what it’ll take to finish it and if she’ll be able to come back if she does.
There’s not a lot of talk at the tables as over a hundred people eat the first real hot meal in a very long time. The buns are snatched up quickly and I’m thrilled when Belle quietly informs us that she secreted a few away for our group to have later. But then I remember just how many supplies fill the containers in the storage area and tell her that we can have bread every day if we want.
It’s a great meal but it would be even better if Sky and Ben could be here with us. I think they would love to see how their generosity made so many people happy. I’m relieved when a new group of people offer to do the meal clean up so that we can show Belle and the others our new suites. Matty runs from room to room bouncing on each bed before declaring the bounciest ours and Belle is clapping her hands in delight when she opens a closet and finds an apartment sized washer and dryer. Marsh checks every living room for a gaming system but comes up empty and jokingly starts plotting on how to dig his way to Skylar’s area so he can steal hers. Sasha just follows her Mom around with a sulky face until she closes herself into what will be her and Belle’s room.
It’s been a long day full of extremes and I’m ready to crash but first I follow Belle and Matty to one of the storage rooms and let them in so we can get bathroom supplies. None of the other group has moved any of the bunks yet. They’ve all just spread out and laid down for the night. I notice as more people lay down that the lights above them dim and marvel at the computer running this place. As we head back to our rooms with our arms full of supplies, I’m not at all surprised to see Ethan going into the medical clinic, even after the long day.
I’m sure tomorrow will be another full day but hopefully not as dramatic as today was. Belle gives Matty a shower as I make up our bed with the shrink wrapped bedding. Once he’s snuggled in I finally get my own shower before crawling in with him. As a gentle warmth blows down on us from the register in the ceiling, my last thought before I fall asleep is Skylar’s face.
Chapter Ten - Skylar
Ben and I spend the day not speaking to each other and by noon I’ve got a pounding headache. I leave him be, there’s no point forcing him on anything. It’s just going to take time. Instead I put in some work on my neglected garden. It’s been over a week since I dedicated any real time to it. It still astounds me how there can be weeds to pull in such an isolated garden but AIRIA has told me that they come from the soil I add every so often from the bags in the storage room. They’re a real pain, but it makes me happy to know that they’re growing somewhere in such a dead world. I lose myself in the mindless task and try not to think about Ben, Rex or anything else that I’ve had to deal with in the last while. I day dream about the day I can take my garden and transplant it outside. One day the skies will clear and the sun will shine down and heal the land. Things will grow again and people and animals will be safe to enjoy the fresh air and the kiss of the sun.
As I pick fruit and vegetables and trim away dead stems and leaves my mind starts cataloging all the shoots I could safely take away to replant in the other empty grow rooms in the barracks. I catch myself when I start thinking about how nice it will be for all of them to have fresh food again. I throw down my small trowel in frustration. They have all the seeds over there they need to start up their garden. They don’t need my shoots even if it means it takes longer for them to have a harvest.
Frack, I’m weak! Yes it was right to let them in over there but that doesn’t mean it’s safe to start mingling with them. Why am I so hung up on Rex anyways? I just met the guy! Yes he’s very good looking and yes we have a lot in common with us both having to raise our younger siblings but that doesn’t mean that the guy’s my soul mate. For frack’s sake! Am I that lonely and desperate that the first guy to come along with dimples can sweep me off my feet? Ok, the green eyes didn’t hurt and the sweet way he looks after his brother and…Argggg!
I need to get him out of my head. I wish the last week had never happened. Ben and I could have just gone on business as usual until the day AIRIA told us it was safe to go outside. I’d really like to believe that we would have been happier that way but I can’t force myself not to remember how sad Ben was when he asked about other boys and nerf gun battles. He’s just as lonely as me. I also force myself to remember all the times I’d go sit outside on the hunting platform and imagine in detail another life where I’m surrounded with other people my age. That’s not normal or healthy but it’s what I’ve got.
I try and picture myself in another ten years after Ben’s the age I am now. Can I do it? Can I just stay locked away and isolated until then? Can I carry on where my father left off? Filling his head as he grows with “Don’t trust anyone. Don’t help anyone.” I know that’s not what I want for him but do I have a choice? I see his tiny face the day he was born as our mother dies beside us because of what men had done to the world. I see his small face asking where his Daddy is after I’ve just had to bury his body from being shot in the back by another man. And then there’s the look on his face as a man presses a gun against his little neck. No, I don’t want this life for him but it’s all we've got. We have to stay separated from others. We have to stay here alone, where we’re safe.
I clean up the mess I’ve made in the garden and put away my tools before heading to the kitchen to make dinner. All the stress of my internal battle is making me feel sick so I need to get something to eat and clear my mind. As I walk through the door I find out that we aren’t as safe alone in here as I thought because I’ve once again brought danger into our home.
“Sky, I don’t feel ve
ry good.”
Ben’s standing in his bedroom doorway and he’s kind of swaying. Confused, I take a few steps toward him and see how pale he is. His eyes are red rimmed and he has two bright red spots on his pale cheeks. I’ve never seen Benny like this before except for one time when he was a baby and getting a new tooth. Dad said it was normal for babies to have…Oh My God! A fever! Benny has a fever. How, what does that mean? I try and think why he would have a fever but don’t get very far because he rasps out a rough cough and then drops to the floor.
I’m across the room and down next to him in a half second and lift him into my arms. His skin is on fire and his head hangs lose on his fragile neck. I get him up and into bed while I’m trying frantically to figure out how or what had made him sick until it blasts through my head like a scream in my ear.
“AIRIA, override the decontamination process and open the inner doors! We’re getting burnt out here!”
The little girl I had carried in had been hot too. She had been sobbing out coughs against my jacket the whole time and I didn’t decontaminate after. I had just walked right in and Benny had hugged me with his face in the same spot she had left all those germs. This is my fault. For the second time, I went against everything my father had warned me about and now for the second time Benny is in danger.
My stomach heaves and threatens to let lose at the idea of my baby being sick enough to die. He has no immune system! How can he fight off whatever this is when he’s never even had a cold? I race to the bathroom and get a wet wash cloth for his head. I know I need to cool him down but what else?
“AIRIA! Benny’s sick, what do I do?”
“Skylar Ross, Benjamin Ross’s body temperature is elevated to a mildly dangerous level. If his temperature rises any higher, his major organs will become at risk for damage and then they will begin to shut down. Give Benjamin Ross a dosage of fever reducer such as Tylenol or Advil. Dose by weight.”
Endless Winter (Book 2): Rain & Ruin Page 5