I murmured, “No worries honey. You’re with me. Are you strong enough to get down or should I help?”
Kevin rallied. “I’ll do it. Don’t need no help.”
The boy was ripe so I breathed in shallow as I whispered, “Good.”
His physical ability didn’t live up to his pride. When the weight of Kevin’s frail body hit his legs both knees buckled. Gerome turned in place and caught the kid’s shoulders faster than I could react.
Our eyes met for a moment over Kevin’s dark curls. I blinked gratitude and took over the job of holding the kid upright. Gerome nodded toward the main packed-dirt path. He wanted us to head to Maggie at the infirmary. I couldn’t agree more.
Cora’s voice got loud, “No one ran this by the Council! You didn’t ask permission to bring this filthy Outsider here!”
Kevin tried to make himself disappear into his blanket.
Her face twisted with rage and disgust as she stepped close to Gerome. As Cora wagged her finger in censure she exposed the slim form of her daughter Corinne. The quiet girl’s icy blue eyes watched everything in silent disapproval. As vocal as Cora was her daughter was the exact opposite. She creeped most of us out a bit.
Without comment Corinne split from her mother and draped Kevin’s other arm over her shoulder. He jerked in surprise and looked up at me for reassurance.
Corinne was just positioning herself to be her mother’s spy. Her offer of help had nothing to do with being a decent human being. I’d have to warn Kevin about her later.
Gerome and Malcolm kept Cora Harris occupied while we made our slow way through the night gilded compound. The infirmary was the heart of this community. Its white metal roof loomed from the darkness like an angular phantasm.
I did my best to ignore Corinne. A kernel of jealously flared at the way she fit under Kevin’s arm. The height difference required I hunch too much and so my fist gripped the kid’s pants through the blanket as I hugged him to my hip. If it wouldn’t have crushed Kevin’s machismo I would’ve just cradle carried him.
Maggie’s shock of bright frizzed out hair caught my attention. There she stood, face drawn into calm impassivity, holding the clinic door in anticipation of our arrival. I’d never been so glad to see my best friend. A weight lifted from me and I smiled in relief.
“Hey, you.”
The door slammed wide as Maggie looked Kevin up and down with a critical eye. She frowned at the top of Corinne’s head since the girl wouldn’t look up.
“He’s gonna need to get clean. I’ll get David.”
My voice was soft as I explained to Kevin, “She’s talking about one of our nurse’s honey. There’s a shower in back.”
Kevin nodded as he studied the inside of the lobby area. The pleasant smell of dried lavender and an undertone of just plain clean intruded on the edges of Kevin’s funk cloud.
We all made it through the counter flap, down the shelf-lined hall and out to the neat empty cots of the triage area. Kevin let David take him to get clean without a fight. Corinne sat on the end of a bed with her knees bent over a metal footboard and bobbed her feet. Her eyes sparkled in the soft interior lights as they borrowed a bit of warmth. It was an illusion. She was her mother’s daughter – all the way.
Maggie fingered the stethoscope resting against her breasts as she spoke, “It may be no worse than dehydration, Melody.”
I unzipped my jacket and tied it around my waist as I glared at Corinne Harris, willing her to leave with my all my mental might. No joy.
Maggie snapped her fingers at the girl, “Go to my office and get some snacks from the third filing cabinet to the right. They’re in the bottom drawer.”
Corinne’s legs stopped mid-swing. She was upright in a blink without a word of complaint.
When she was out of ear shot Maggie asked, “Why’s she here?”
My chin went high as I rolled the kinks out of my shoulders, “Dumb question.”
Maggie snorted a laugh and bumped a hip into one of my thighs.
“Lighten up, friend. Kevin should be fine.”
I couldn’t help the smile that burst. “Yeah.”
Corinne sauntered back out of Maggie’s office with an armful of foil covered Jell-O cups and the handle of a white plastic spoon in her mouth. She dumped all of it on the bed closest to Maggie’s open door without a word then stomped back to her old seat.
Irritated at Corinne’s half-assed attempt at compliance, Maggie barked at her, “Really?”
The sound of water in the pipes ceased. It wasn’t long before David’s kind eyes sought mine from the hall. He gave a thumbs up to let me know the cleanup had gone well.
Kevin emerged after, clad in borrowed clothes. They hung on him. I was gonna have to fatten him up. Maggie would help. She was a better cook than me any day.
He stood on the threshold and darted quick glances around the infirmary before he took a single step forward. Dark circles hugged his eyes and met at the bridge of his nose. Poor kid. His whole demeanor changed when he spotted the jumble of Jell-O cups.
It took all of two long strides for him to get at the waiting snack. I’d never seen a person so excited about gelatin, sugar and food coloring. Each empty plastic container was scoured before Kevin crumpled it in his fist and tossed it to the floorboards.
We all sort of watched for a moment in dumbfounded awe.
Maggie warned, “Whoa, dear! Slow down okay. You don’t want to barf it all right back up.” She approached the bed with a broad smile. “David would have to clean it up.”
The night nurse’s shoulders slumped under his green scrubs in a comical pout, “Aw man!”
Kevin face stilled. He left the spoon in his mouth but tossed the cup he’d been about to peel open down. It bounced and rolled off the bed to stop in front of Corinne’s toes. She stooped to retrieve it but I beat her to it.
I asked him, “So, how are you feeling?”
He mumbled out, “Tired. Hungry.”
A gel spec was stuck to the front of Kevin’s baggy t-shirt. I flicked it off and his head jerked up - warm brown eyes alive and alert.
Maggie interrupted, “Can I look you over, dear?”
Kevin’s eyes widened and his lips pressed so tight the blood left them.
I touched his upper arm with the back of my hand. “She’s a doctor, honey. No needles or anything. Just an exam. You want me to stay?”
His feet shifted and his attention strayed to Corinne then back to me.
Voice full of false bravery, Kevin said, “Nah.”
“Alright, then. I’ll be in the lobby waiting for you.”
It hurt to leave him. More than it should’ve. He hadn’t even said he was staying with me. What if Kevin decided to live in the barracks or with another family? I’d get over it. I would.
Maggie pointed to the supply-lined hall, “Out. We’ll be done in a few.”
Corinne followed me and I caught myself looking over my shoulder twice to make sure she was behind me. The girl was unnervingly silent – a younger robotic version of her mother. I’d seen her get angry at the school, but her outbursts were rare and calculated for the most effect. Her brother Calvin was a whole other matter. It was safe to say the Harris’s were not my favorite Weavers at the compound.
The lobby area was empty but not for long. I heard my brother’s distinctive booming voice before the bell tinkled to indicate the opening of the door. Gerome and Cora entered right after.
Malcolm leaned his upper body on his elbows effectively blocking any access to the examination area by holding the counter flap hostage. Gerome smoothed his part and stuffed his hands in his front pants pockets. He looked calm and a tiny bit amused.
Cora stood on tiptoe and wagged a finger at his face, “You have no right to disregard the ruling of the Council regarding the assimilation of Outsiders!”
Malcolm rolled his eyes at me.
I spoke up, “I’ve bonded with the boy, Cora. He isn’t going anywhere. The Council can smooch my rou
nd black rump.”
Cora turned on me. Something in her face hinted at madness – muscles twitched in an unstable dance under the skin as if her anger would separate and manifest in the air around her. Corinne pushed past to position herself behind her mother. Something palpable happened – the tension on Cora’s faced released when her daughter placed a hand on her shoulder.
Maybe it was just coincidence. Corinne wouldn’t give anyone her eyes. I looked to Gerome and he was frowning in concentration at the girl. He was head of security, I’d let him worry about it.
Cora put her fingertips to the fine hair on her temple and threw her upper body straighter. “The Council ordered all further searches for spontaneous Weavers to cease and desist. As the last family off-site the Lee’s have been informed of the ruling. They should return any day now.”
Flecks of gray flared in her iris as she puckered her chin and curled her upper lip into a thin hard line. It made her look old and bitter. I wasn’t about to tell her that, though.
I objected before she could keep on, “I’ve been volunteering in town at the outreach kitchen for almost a decade. You expect me to just pull out with no explanation? What sense does that make? What about the charities this compound supports. What happens to all the people who depend on us, huh?”
Cora blinked and cocked her head, “I would think you’d have better things to do as Headmistress of our school than traipse around worrying after Outsiders.”
My mouth went slack with disbelief. The Council had finally lost their collective damn minds. What the…? All the unidentified spontaneous Weavers like Kevin would die for no other reason than politics and fear. Son of a bitch!
Gerome spoke low - authority embedded in every word. Malcolm loomed in the background. “The boy stays, Cora, and that’s the end of it.”
I was treated to Cora’s back as she hissed toward Gerome, “We’ll just see about that. Come with me, Corinne.”
Maggie’s warm voice made me jump.
“Well, at least she’s gone. Thanks for chasing her off, Gerome.”
She leaned over the counter to plant a solid kiss on her dour husband’s shaved cheek. He gave her a half smile that hinted at a side no one else saw. “Stay out of trouble, for a bit at least. I’d like to sleep tonight.”
Maggie struck a pose, “You sure about the sleep?”
Malcolm shoved her sideways, “Gross.”
I laughed with my best friend, it felt good.
Kevin’s hesitant form emerged from behind one of the swinging doors and I sobered.
Maggie put on her doctor hat and waved Malcolm out of the way of the counter flap. Her words were for the room at large. “He’s malnourished and underweight because of it but otherwise sound in body. Fatten him up some and he’ll be good to go, Melody.”
Kevin ventured out to stand with the hem of his too large shirt fisted in his hands. “What now?”
I took a steadying breath. “Well, you can stay with me in my extra room or you can move to the barracks with the others kids who are old enough.”
He jerked his chin up, “Can I leave any time I want?”
Malcolm slid his hands to his hips, “You can. I’ll drive you into town and drop you where you want. Know this though – Melody is the only family I have left. If you hurt my sister in any way I’ll make you sorry.”
Maggie and I objected at same time, “Malcolm!”
Kevin stared my brother straight in the eye, “I’ll stay with Melody for now.”
My heart thumped large and in charge in my chest. It had swelled with his expression of trust in me. I would do my best to deserve it.
I held out my hand, “C’mon then, honey. Let’s take you home.”
THE END
About the Author
Vaun Murphrey lives in Lubbock, Texas with her husband, two sons and a shaggy black and white four-legged friend. Her life is composed of one ordinary day after another, at least from the outside – on the inside she travels to different worlds. If Vaun ever seems distracted, now you know why… be patient, she returns on a regular basis to visit Earth.
VECTOR (The Weaver Series Book 3) Page 34