“Well if you do find things that may be of value to Others, and you have room in your pack, grab them. Even if it’s something we don’t need ourselves.” Her voice was calm; “You never know what you may be able to barter for something better.” Sean was stunned. So stunned in fact, that he actually stopped walking for a second and then skipped to catch back up. Was she serious, he wondered? It violated one of their major rules as a Family. Stay Away from People!
“How come I didn’t know you traded with Others?” he demanded. She shrugged her shoulders.
“You never asked.”
“Hmmmnph,” he grunted. She had him there. He just had never imagined it. His eyes slid sideways to glance at Fi as she floated over the rough terrain at his side. The ever-present buck knife was strapped to her left thigh and her gun was holstered at her waist. Her hair had grown very long. Though the Family had scissors, she had opted not to cut it since their escape from home. The thick chunky braid swung down to the middle of her back, stray curls pinned back by the constant presence of the black elastic headband and now, a fuzzy winter ear warmer. Her low hiking boots allowed her to run quickly if needed. She wore her usual gear, everything dark, camouflaged, and functional.
Everything about her was this now, Sean realized. Whether she didn’t feel the same way that he did because she would never feel that way, or because in this world she was not free to feel that way, he didn’t know. What he did know was that it was kind of Fi to allow him to be affectionate with her at all. It was an indulgence, he realized, because she cared about him and doesn’t want to hurt his feelings.
He nodded his head. I’ll take it, he thought. I will love her, but not push her, and she will let me. That’s enough for me. For now.
“So,” he said. “Tell me about your trading experiences then.” He put his head down and focused, striding with Fi, being her foot soldier. They had a ways yet to go.
New Additions
----------- Fi -----------
Good God, it was cold, Fi thought, her eyes searching the road and woods ahead as she stood sentry. A sudden sound caught her attention and she saw two figures making their way up the road. She waited until they were close enough that she had the advantage and she drew her weapon.
“Hold it right there! Don’t move,” she commanded from the darkness. The larger figure stopped and moved in front of the smaller figure.
“Alright we don’t want any trouble,” he said, his tone gruff. “We are just passing through. I got a lady with a baby here.” Fi slid a bullet into the chamber and she saw the man startle at the sound. He obviously was familiar with weapons. She stepped into the road with gun drawn and pointed a flashlight at the intruders. The light was small, but powerful. She knew that he would be blinded by it, that she would appear as a mere shadow. The man was older, much older, Fi saw. The woman, by contrast was young, perhaps in her late twenties, and her long wool jacket covered a cooing bundle that Fi took to be the baby.
“Do you have any weapons?” Her heart pounded while the man considered his options.
“Yes, I do,” he replied with a sigh. “I have a shotgun, and a machete.” Fi was surprised. Honesty was not usually the way of Others these days.
“You may remove your weapons and place them on the ground between us,” she said. “At that point, I’m going to holster my own weapon, but be aware that I’m not alone.” The man did as she asked, slowly placing both weapons on the ground at their feet while she watched. As promised, she lowered her weapon and put the safety on before holstering it.
“Names,” she barked. The man responded, his voice clipped like that of a soldier.
“My name is Mitchell Barnes, but people usually call me Sarge.” He stepped sideways to reveal the woman behind him. “This here is my granddaughter Lydia, and my great-grandson Charlie.” He put his hand in front of his eyes to block the glare of the flashlight. Fi turned the flashlight sideways so that all could have a better view.
“Alright, Sarge,” she said in a firm voice. “I’m Fi, and I’m the Leader of my Family. You appear to be truthful, so I’m going to return the favor.” Sarge half-smiled and his eyebrows rose, but she ignored him. His reaction to her was hardly unique.
“This is my Family’s territory,” she continued. “Depending on your intended route, we will allow you to pass or possibly assist you on your way. If you make any move to harm any member of my Family, you will be killed. No questions asked, no hesitation, you understand?” He nodded, still obviously stunned by the age and size of this grim little soldier.
“If you’re in need of resources or shelter and you mean no harm, we will also allow you to rest on our land, but we will not reveal the location of our home at any time.” He nodded again, exchanging glances with Lydia, who also seemed shocked by the scene.
“Finally,” she added, “on occasion, we initiate new Members to the Family. If we find peaceful and useful individuals who are willing to work and contribute, then we will consider them for addition to the Family. If you’re not looking to join a larger group, so be it. If it’s something you do want, then speak now.” Sarge and Lydia were silent for a moment. “Well?” Fi prompted them.
“Well,” he responded, “I know that I don’t look like much at my age. Most others we’ve met either try to kill us or just hurry us along. But I’m seeking a group to help protect my Lydia and the baby. They need more protection than I can provide.” It was an honest assessment of their situation, Fi could see. The man was too old to protect the woman and baby by himself. “So I hadn’t thought about joining you until just this minute, but I’d like to be given a chance, if that is an option.” Fi cocked her head.
“Sarge, huh?” she said. “I assume that you were in the military then?”
“Yes Ma’am. All of my life. Retired honorably. Served in the Vietnam War, the first Gulf War, and in Somalia. I’ve seen some stuff and I know a thing or two about strategy and weapons. With a weapon I can fight, but honestly, without one, I’m not much to you.” Fi nodded, appreciating the continued honesty. She turned to Lydia.
“And what about you Lydia?” she asked, her voice softening somewhat. “What is it that you did before the world fell apart?”
Lydia’s voice shook a little. “It’s not so helpful really. I was a third grade teacher.” Her smile was unsure. “Not a skill set that is so useful now, I guess. I’m sorry, but I’m not a trained fighter. I haven’t even handled Grandpa’s guns except when there was no other choice. I hate them.” The misery in her voice spoke to her honesty.
Fi smiled. “A schoolteacher. What a coincidence. We happen to have some little ones who are missing their regular schooling right now. I bet the parents and adults would be interested in setting up a small school.” She peered at Lydia. “Would you want to teach again?” Lydia sucked in her breath.
“Oh, yes! I would yes, for sure,” she nodded. The baby strapped to her coughed a little and gurgled from inside her coat. She bounced him anxiously, “Um, he is going to need to eat soon, so we need to get out of the road and to some kind of shelter before he starts having a fit.”
“Of course,” Fi said. “Give me a moment.” She put her fingers to her mouth and made a light whistling call. In the distance they could hear several response calls. “I’m going to turn out the light, so that you do not see my Family approach. We will have to blindfold you to take you to our location, and they will help you to navigate safely with us. Please stand still and do not be afraid. I promise, we will not hurt you.” She turned out the light and the darkness fell over them like a cloak. In a few minutes they could hear soft footfalls as the others approached.
“What have you got Fi?” Sean called as he approached. “You didn’t give the distress call?”
“Sean, I have a couple travelers and a baby here. I think they may make good Members of the Family and I want to present them for Consideration.” She peered into the darkness. “Is John with you?”
“Nope,” called a deep voice. “It
’s me, Fi.” Out of the corner of her eye Fi saw Sarge’s silhouette stir. Probably surprised to hear Doc’s voice, she thought. An older man like him must be wondering how it is that I am in charge.
“Doc, ok. Great. This will work. Ok, Sarge? Lydia?” Fi called out to them.
“Yes,” they both responded in the darkness.
“My Family Members Sean and Doc Ron are going to blindfold you. Lydia, make sure you feel you have a safe hold on Charlie, but can still have a hand free. Each Member is going to hold you by the hand and lead you to our home in the dark. It will take close to thirty minutes unless you can hurry, but we don’t want you to fall, so please take care.” There was a pause. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
“Yes,” they responded again. Lydia let go of Sarge’s hand to adjust her hold on Charlie. She had him pressed to her chest in a makeshift sling. Doc stepped up behind Sarge while Sean approached Lydia.
“Now I’m going to tie this blindfold on you gently,” Doc reassured Sarge. “Just a minute.” Doc took Sarge by the hand and started to pull him forward. “Let’s go,” he said. Sarge and Lydia both began marching hand-in-hand with the Members of Fi’s family.
“I’m going to go ahead and get the Family prepared for the new arrivals.” Fi said and then she dashed away. With Doc Ron and Sean’s help, Sarge and Lydia walked as quickly as they could without tripping over the uneven snow and clods of dirt. For a while, they did not speak and then Fi came racing back to join them.
“We are almost there guys,” she reassured the blindfolded duo.
“It’s ok to whisper if you want to,” Sean added. “You aren’t marching to your doom or anything.” Lydia breathed out hard.
“Thank you,” she breathed gratefully. “It’s just scary a bit, with the blindfolds. It feels like a kidnapping or something.” She bit her lip. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that.” Sean chuckled and squeezed her hand.
“Yes, you did. But that’s ok, it was honest,” he reassured her. “Fi is right, you two do seem to have an honesty problem,” he said and he chuckled again. “It will be ok, believe me. Fi is the best Leader of a Family ever.” Fi shot him a smile over her shoulder. In the darkness he probably did not see it, but she appreciated his vote of confidence to their new acquaintances. They continued on in silence, concentrating on their movements. Now that the tension had eased, all four were worked together with whispered directions or encouragement when needed. They came to a stop.
“Ok,” Sean said. “We’re here.” Doc let go of Sarge’s hand. “Please stand here and give us a minute,” Sean requested. Sarge and Lydia stood still, Lydia bouncing and comforting a fussy Charlie. Sean pried open the cellar doors and Fi vaulted down them first, taking her seat on the makeshift bench they’d built in the corner. Above she heard Doc explaining the final step to Sarge and Lydia.
“We are going to go down some steps,” he said. “Just seven of them, but they are a little steep and creaky. I will take you down one at a time.” They moved forward and Doc helped Sarge navigate his way down the stairs and Sean followed with Lydia.
“Ok, time to remove the blindfolds.” Doc said as he untied Sarge’s blindfold. Sarge and Lydia blinked their eyes as they took in their surroundings. A small fire glowed from inside a metal basin placed on the dirt floor of the farmhouse cellar. The roof was so low that Sarge could only just stand. Smoke from the firepit curled out a small window in the nearest wall, just above ground level. Sarge swung his head around, conducting a count, Fi thought as she studied him. Just like a good soldier would do. When footfalls crossed on the floor above them, his head swung up and he exchanged a wide-eyed glance with Lydia. Fi nodded to herself, Sarge was definitely determining their numbers.
Fi smiled up at him from her perch on a bench made of cinderblocks and pillows. She could see the shock on Sarge’s face now that he could truly see her face and her youth. His expression changed when he saw his rifle and machete at her feet.
“Welcome,” Fi said. “Welcome to our Family’s Home.” She stood up and approached them. “First you must rest and eat a bit. Then we will get to the next steps.”
Sarge protested, “Oh no, Ma’am, we can’t take your food, we have some traveling rations of our own.” At this, John spoke up.
“Fi, that makes sense. Why give him our rations when he has some?” he asked. Fi glared at him in disbelief. Jesus that was cold. What right did he have to be stingy when she was the one risking her butt to get that food?
“Don’t worry about it, John,” she chastised him in annoyance. “What we’ll be giving them won’t be much anyway, so they should just take it. Besides, if they pass the Consideration, then they will be Family.” She moved her attention to Lydia. “Now you will need some privacy for Charlie’s feeding, I assume?” Lydia’s eyes shone, moved by Fi’s kindness.
“Yes, that would be wonderful, thank you!” Fi walked her over to a corner of the room where she had set up a blanket on the floor behind a pile of cardboard boxes.
“Will this do?” she asked with genuine concern.
“Of course!” Lydia said and settled behind the boxes to tend to Charlie. Fi asked John to get them both some venison jerky and a small portion of canned peas. This time he obeyed her without question. Fi knew he felt embarrassed for wanting to deny the newcomers food. He approached the spot where Sarge was seated, gripping the food with a chagrined face.
“I’m sorry for before,” he said brusquely. “The times have made animals of us all.” He shook his head and handed Sarge the jerky and the cup of peas. “We have plenty of water if you’re thirsty,” he added and walked toward the staircase that led to the upstairs part of the house. “Unless you need me Fi, I’m going to head upstairs for some rest.” He gestured to Lucy and Zoe. “C’mon girls,” he said. “Let’s go get some sleep with your sister.”
Over the next hour, the other Members of the Family who had been in the little cellar also left to go upstairs, with the exception of Fi and Sean. Fi gathered up some blankets and pillows and set up bedding for them both.
“I’m sorry we can’t invite you upstairs, but only Family Members may go upstairs. The fire will keep it warm down here and Sean and I will be staying with you.”
Fi knew that Sarge realized that she and Sean were staying to guard them. But if he was truly a former soldier, he knew that her caution was warranted, she thought. Regardless of what he thought of her, when Sarge’s head hit the pillow he went right to sleep. Lydia was the same way. Fi smiled as she watched them drift away to dreamland. She knew that they probably hadn’t had a safe night’s sleep in a very long time. Though she often longed for a decent night’s sleep herself, it was nice to be able to provide it to someone else in need. Having said goodnight to his family upstairs, Sean tiptoed back down to join her by the dying firepit. She smiled as he approached.
“Sleeping like babies,” she murmured. He grinned and nodded.
“Of course, one of them actually is a baby,” he chuckled and she joined him. Her laugh turned into a yawn. It was going to be a long night.
Consideration Day
----------- Fi -----------
The next morning Sarge opened his eyes sat straight up, obviously disoriented by his surroundings. He turned and saw Lydia snoring on the blankets beside him, her corn silk blonde hair spread across the pillow. In her arms, Charlie slept in a tight pink bundle.
“Good morning sleepyhead. Did you sleep well?” Fi called from bench behind him, where she sat watching them. She widened her eyes, teasing him with feigned ignorance.
“You know darned right well I did,” he grinned. “Since you no doubt sat up and watched us like hawks for half the night.” Reaching his hands upward, Sarge luxuriated in a long stretch and sighed. Lydia was beginning to stir.
“Only half the night Sarge,” Fi corrected him with a smile. “Sean took the other half. Take your time getting up,” she said. “There will be a little more venison available for a morning meal, but not much else by our current
rationing rules.” She started back up the stairs. “Today is going to be a big day. Today you meet the whole Family and we will make our Consideration together.” Fi began to disappear up the staircase.
“Wait,” Sarge called to her. “What does that mean exactly?” She bent down and peered below the railing at him. “It means that you will Consider if you want to be Family Members, once you know who we are and what we have to offer you, and we will do the same. We all discuss the expectations and rules and then we decide together.”
“But what if we decide we want to be Members and the Family says ‘No’?” he asked her anxiously. Fi tilted her head. Her gaze was level, with no animosity in it as she spoke.
“Then the answer is No.”
She turned and climbed the rest of the stairs, leaving them alone. Fi urged the Family through the morning chores quickly and then returned to the cellar. She felt flushed and excited. They had not held a Consideration since they’d added the Coopers to their group.
“Ok, well the Family has finished the day’s activities so that we can get to the important part of the day.” She paused. “Are you both ready to meet the whole Family and discuss with us?”
Sarge spoke first, “Yes, we are. Whatever it is, bring it on. After last night’s sleep, nothing bad could possibly happen,” he said with an upbeat tone. He glanced at Fi a bit from the corner of his eye and said, “Besides, we have one important vote, don’t we?” Fi’s chest tightened at the expression on his face. Though she wished she could save every nice person in the world, the reality was that she couldn’t. It made her grateful that the system they had created made it a group decision. Fi narrowed her eyes.
“Sarge,” she explained. “You should know that I’m not decided until all is discussed, and you should know that my vote isn’t more important than the others. It’s important that you be as genuine with them as you’ve been with me.” With that, they heard the creak of many footsteps overhead. Pairs of feet came striding down the stairs, one after another. The Family was coming. It was time for Consideration.
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