Staring at Lilly, “She’s awful clingy lately,” Jennifer mumbled, moving over with Lori. When Lilly finished, Lori sat on the machine and Lilly moved the pin, dropping the weight. Watching Lilly for the rest of the workout, Jennifer saw Lilly never strayed far from Lance and touched him constantly.
After the workout, the kids saw them move to a mat and start punching and kicking bags like a man on the TV screen was. Then the group started sparring. Watching the ladybugs spar with each other and then Lance, Denny started to fear them physically. When Carrie bit the shit out of Ian to get out of a chokehold, Denny became terrified of them when Ian screamed until Carrie let go.
After hand to hand was done and the eggs had been collected, Allie and Carrie led the kids in combat drills and the others headed inside to shower. Starting breakfast, Jennifer looked over when Lilly came over to help. “I’ve noticed you’ve been very clingy to Lance lately. Any reason?” Jennifer asked, wondering if she should be doing the same to Ian.
“Just want him to know,” Lilly responded, washing the eggs off.
Bumping her hip against Lilly, Jennifer grinned. “You don’t have to be jealous of Rhonda,” Jennifer snorted. “Hell, even I was looking at her rack.”
Smiling as she put the fresh eggs in the fridge, Lilly pulled out the batch to cook with. “I’m not jealous of Rhonda,” Lilly told her. Suddenly, Lilly turned to Jennifer in shock. “You think she’s after Lance?” Lilly whispered.
Turning the oven down, Jennifer looked at Lilly and saw a feral expression. “Uh,” Jennifer moaned, not sure how to proceed.
Setting the eggs down, Lilly moved closer, glancing in the living area and saw the boys were still upstairs. “I only saw her glance at Lance a few times, did I miss something?” Lilly whispered in terror.
“It doesn’t matter,” Jennifer said carefully. “You’re the first girl I’ve ever seen Lance talk to. I mean, really talk to. He talked to me because Ian made him at first, then Lance just liked talking to me. You? Lance will just sit and talk to you.”
“What do you mean, it doesn’t matter?” Lilly barked in a whisper. “Rhonda is only two years older than me. Of course, it matters.”
Wiping her hands off on a towel, Jennifer grabbed Lilly by the shoulders. “Lilly, Lance is in love with you,” Jennifer said slowly. “He talks to Ian about you, and that is beyond amazing to me. Lance sees Rhonda as a fighter. I mean, hell, out of that entire group, she has been roaming the woods and hunting to feed the group. If you want to categorize how Lance sees Rhonda, it would be closer to a guy than a girl.”
“Yeah, a guy with triple Ds and a thirty-something-inch waist,” Lilly hissed.
“Your waist is smaller and you’re not that small up top,” Jennifer snorted and stopped, seeing the glare in Lilly’s eyes. “Lilly, no. Even if Rhonda was interested, Lance isn’t.”
Relaxing some, Lilly nodded. “Okay, but you’ll tell me if you think I need to talk to her.”
Still holding Lilly’s shoulders, Jennifer’s mouth fell open. “You’re kidding!” Jennifer gasped.
“What?” Lilly asked in alarm.
“You’re jealous of Lori?” Jennifer asked, raising her voice and Lilly reached up, covering her mouth. They both cut their eyes to the stairs, still hearing the boys moving around.
Looking back to Jennifer, “That little blonde skank hasn’t taken her eyes off him for a second,” Lilly growled. Removing her hand from Jennifer’s mouth, “She has batted those green eyes at him so many times, I’m ready to pull them out.”
Wanting to laugh, Jennifer couldn’t, seeing Lilly was serious. “Lilly, if I had known, I wouldn’t have invited her over,” Jennifer confessed, feeling really bad.
“No, I can keep my eyes on her here,” Lilly confessed.
Looking into Lilly’s face, Jennifer looked her up and down. “You’re jealous of a fourteen-year-old girl?” Jennifer asked dumbfounded. “Are you serious?”
Hearing the age out loud, Lilly sighed before stepping back, “She’s closer to his age than I am,” Lilly mumbled. “I’m an old woman compared to her.”
“You’re ten years older than her and you’re an old woman?” Jennifer asked, shaking her head. “Don’t tell me I’m going to feel old when I’m twenty-four.”
With tears in her eyes, “He’s perfect,” Lilly whimpered. “Everything I’ve ever dreamed of in a guy and I found it. And he’s over a decade younger than me. If the world hadn’t collapsed, I would be put in jail right now.”
“Lilly, you kissed him,” Jennifer mumbled.
“Yeah, and that alone would have gotten me a jail cell,” Lilly sniffled, reaching up and wiping her eyes. “I would die for this group, but I would live in hell for Lance.”
Lifting Lilly’s chin up to look at her, “First, the world has ended. If it hadn’t, then we would all be in jail now. We’ve killed, helped kill, have illegal weapons and explosives. Live in the now,” Jennifer told her softly.
“I don’t know how you did it when Ian went out with those girls,” Lilly sighed. “The thought of not having Lance in my life hurts,” Lilly said, grabbing her chest.
“Do you trust me?” Jennifer asked, and Lilly jerked back. “I’ll take that as a yes,” Jennifer said. “You have nothing to fear. I’m sorry to tell you this, Lilly, but you are a borderline geek, a hot borderline geek, but still a geek,” Jennifer told her with a grin.
“I know,” Lilly smiled, rolling her eyes.
“Now, if another hot borderline geek shows up, I might tell you that competition has arrived, but Lance and Ian are loyal. They believe their word is their bond. You’ve heard that damn code enough to know Lance would never hurt you, as long as you stay true to who you are,” Jennifer said, and Lilly nodded, accepting that.
Hearing the boys coming, Jennifer stepped back. “Now, I’ll show you what I mean,” Jennifer said, turning to the stove.
When Lance and Ian reached the bottom of the stairs, Lilly was cracking eggs. “Need some help?” Ian asked, walking in.
“Will you set the table and start on the juice?” Jennifer asked over her shoulder. Ian grabbed a pitcher and Lance grabbed a stack of plates. When Lance moved past Lilly, he kissed her cheek and then started setting plates around the table.
“Lance?” Jennifer called out, moving pans on the stove. “Have you noticed Lori batting her green eyes at you?”
Sucking in a breath, Lilly almost died but kept cracking eggs as Lance looked over at Jennifer. “She has green eyes?” Lance asked confused.
“I swear,” Jennifer huffed. “Lance, what color eyes does Lilly have?”
“Clear blue unless she’s tired, then they turn a darker blue,” Lance replied, grabbing silverware.
“Honestly, Lance,” Jennifer sighed. “Last night during Die Hard, Lori was twirling her earrings and batting her eyes at you curled up with Lilly.”
Setting the silverware out, Lance looked over at Ian mixing the juice up and Ian just shrugged. “Lori’s wearing earrings? Why would she be wearing earrings? They sparkle and that draws attention you don’t want.”
Giving a long moan, Jennifer dragged his name out. “L-an-ce.” Then she looked over at him. “Can you tell me if Lilly’s ears are pierced?”
“Yeah,” Lance chortled. “Her right is pierced twice, and her left is pierced three times, but she doesn’t wear earrings.”
Throwing her hands up in the air, “Oh, I guess you know where Lilly is ticklish at?” Jennifer challenged, and Lance’s face blushed instantly as he cut his eyes to Lilly.
Lance saw Lilly looking at him with a soft small smile. “You can tell her, sweetness,” Lilly said.
“Her knees. You touch her knees and she will go crazy,” Lance answered in a low voice, turning to Jennifer.
“Oh,” Jennifer smiled, then turned back to the stove. “I guess you didn’t notice Lori, then.”
When Ian shrugged at Lance again, Lance moved over beside Lilly and whispered, “Do I need to say something to Lori?”
>
“No,” Lilly said quickly, turning and hugging Lance. “She will be fine, and she only looks at you because you are so fine. If a guy ever said something, it could really hurt a girl. If I ever notice it, I’ll talk to her,” Lilly told him.
Hugging her back, “I’m sorry, but you girls are complicated,” Lance whispered. “I don’t want you mad or anything.”
Giving Lance a long kiss, Lilly pulled back to look in his face. “Why should I be mad? I have you,” she smiled, and that made Lance smile.
The smile fell off Lance’s face and Lilly felt panic. “You will tell me and not make me guess, right?” Lance asked hopefully.
“If I don’t, Jennifer will,” Lilly chuckled.
“I know her ticklish spot because she told me,” Lance said, letting Lilly go.
“And you ran and told Ian!” Jennifer shouted.
Walking away, “Who in the hell do you think asked me to find out?” Lance shouted back.
Jennifer turned to Ian, narrowing her eyes. “You know, you could’ve been the one talking on the phone to me all that time,” Jennifer almost snarled.
Clearing his throat, “Sorry,” Ian mumbled. “I associated you with the Greek gods, and you intimidated me.”
A perky smile jumped on Jennifer’s face and she turned back to the stove. “You’re forgiven,” she sang out, then hummed as she continued breakfast.
When the tiny drill sergeants brought in the rest of the group, everyone sat down for breakfast.
After showering, Denny went outside to help Lance, working on the Battle Bots they were putting out. “You’re putting two in one spot?” Denny asked, watching the bot follow Lance around.
“Yeah, the one out now has had to recharge during groups of stinkers. They will take twelve-hour shifts,” Lance told him, making the bot stop with the remote control.
Denny turned and saw Lori and Jodi helping with the greenhouse. Ian and Jennifer were making windows with four-foot by eight-foot Plexiglass. “Um, Lance?” Denny said timidly. “How old are you?”
“Thirteen,” Lance answered, grabbing the screwdriver Denny was holding and making adjustments to the bot. Hearing that, Denny looked at Lance like he was a god.
“You and Ian know how to do everything!” Denny said with wonder. “I want to do that.”
Looking up at Denny, “Learn, drive yourself,” Lance replied, handing the screwdriver back. “We don’t try to be the best. We try to be the best we can.”
“Is Ian thirteen?”
“Yep,” Lance said, taking the pliers from Denny and working on the bot.
“So, do you think I can, you know, be like you and Ian?” Denny asked with hope.
“That’s up to you,” Lance answered, handing the pliers back. “You can be a pussy and just whine, or commit yourself to being the best you can. Do I think you can? Yes, I do.”
“Wow,” Denny gasped with a wide grin, then felt Lance grab him and move him away from the bot. “Will you tell me how?”
“Denny, I’ll show you how. Ian and I study and work to learn, but you may be different,” Lance said, picking up his laptop. “One thing I will say, if we think you’re wasting our time, don’t ever ask again.”
“I won’t, I swear,” Denny vowed.
When Lance was satisfied with the bots, he led Denny into the shop and Denny froze looking at frames for more battle bots, but that’s not what shocked him. Allie was welding, and Carrie was cutting long stalks of aluminum tubing. As Lance went to the CNC, Denny moved over by Carrie and saw a computer screen with a blown-up diagram of the Battle Bots. Carrie would look at the screen, then make a mark on the square tubing and cut it with a band saw.
“Everyone here is so awesome,” Denny mumbled.
“Hey, Denny,” Allie called out and he turned to see Allie with the welding helmet flipped up. “Will you bring me that stack?”
Following where Allie was pointing, Denny grabbed a stack of precut pieces and carried them over. “Thank you,” Allie said, grabbing one and jerking her head to make the helmet flip down and started welding. Jerking his eyes away, Denny noticed the frames of two more bots while Allie worked on the third.
Seeing Carrie walk to the front of the shop carrying back a ten-foot-long stalk of aluminum, Denny ran to where she’d gotten it. Picking up two, he carried them back for her. “Thank you,” Carrie smiled.
Just being a gofer, Denny was saving them time.
When Ian and the others came in, the large shop felt crowded, but Ian moved Denny to a table and Jennifer showed him how they melted metal. After putting on a leather jacket and a face guard, Jennifer opened the door of the induction furnace. “We will be doing nickel, so keep on your toes,” Jennifer told him.
When Jennifer pulled over five-gallon buckets, she opened the furnace and slid out a two-foot-wide, two-foot-deep, and three-foot-tall bucket. Seeing it was stone, Denny tapped her arm. “You bought that?”
“Yeah, right,” Jennifer chuckled as she filled the bucket. “Lance and Ian made this one,” she said, and pointed at a small induction furnace on the table beside them. “Doug bought that one.”
“Jennifer, that’s stone!” Denny cried out.
“When we’re done, I’ll take you outside and you can see their stone cutting saw. They bolted stone to metal to make this. I’m not going to lie, I was shocked when they did it.”
With Lance and Ian moving up from god status to creators of the universe, Denny helped Jennifer push the bucket in. When Jennifer flipped the switch, Denny heard the machine give a deep hum and thought the lights dimmed for a brief second. “When this is on, we have to run the generator outside,” Jennifer told him.
The induction furnace beeped, and Jennifer pointed at some three-foot-long metal tongs. Before Denny could grab them, Ian picked them up and Denny saw Ian was wearing stuff like he and Jennifer were. “Watch how I do the first one, then you’re taking over,” Ian told him, lowering the face shield.
When Jennifer opened the furnace, a blast of heat filled the shop. Moving an arm over the bucket, Jennifer opened a small gate on the bucket and red, glowing metal eased out, reminding Denny of silly putty. The glowing metal was two inches wide and an inch thick.
Grabbing a handle, Jennifer moved it forward and a thick blade moved over the table slowly, with the whine of hydraulics, and cut the glowing metal. Ian grabbed the four-foot-long glowing rod with the tongs and pulled it to the end of the table, then pushed it to the side.
When he was done, Jennifer had cut another one. Grabbing it, Ian moved it beside the other one and motioned Denny over. “If you touch it, it will burn through your glove before you can pull your hand back,” Ian warned, handing the tongs over.
Watching Denny move the next four over, Ian nodded before taking off the gear and leaving them.
By the time they stopped for lunch, Denny was soaked under the leather suit and helmet. He looked at the stack of metal bars he and Jennifer had made with pride. “How long till they cool off?” he asked, taking off his suit.
“Tomorrow,” Jennifer answered as they hung up their gear.
Turning around, Denny gasped to see Jodi working on a piece of sheet metal and using a plasma cutter with Allie leaning over her. Looking around, he saw Lori and Carrie doing something with wire. “Thanks for the help,” Jennifer told him, wiping sweat off her face.
Glancing around shyly, “Um, Jennifer, where is this research area Lance and Ian talk about?” Denny asked.
The smile fell off Jennifer’s face. “Outside the diversion fence, and don’t even ask to go with them,” Jennifer warned. “Lilly and I don’t because both of them are scared we would get hurt.”
Looking over at the Battle Bots, “Did they make those there the first time?” Denny asked.
Shaking her head, “No, Lance and Ian weren’t worried about those hurting us, they designed, programed, and built them here inside the fence,” Jennifer told him. “Now, you should be a little scared of what they do in the research area.”
With wide eyes, Denny nodded. “I don’t want to know, but I love it here,” he replied.
Smiling again, “That just shows how smart you are,” Jennifer smirked.
“You guys are the coolest people ever,” Denny sighed with a smile.
“Well, when you come back over, we’ll put you to work,” Jennifer smiled and then turned around. “Lunch, and don’t make me say it twice!”
Like a switch had been flipped, everyone stopped and started picking up their area. “I’m starting lunch,” Jennifer said, then pointed at what needed to be done. “Can you take care of our area?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Denny said, moving over.
“D-,” Jennifer started, then shook her head when Denny started cleaning. “We’ll discuss that later,” Jennifer said, walking out.
“You did good work,” Lilly said, passing by Denny.
“This was so awesome!” Denny cried out.
“Just another day here,” Lilly chuckled, heading to the cabin to help.
When the shop was cleaned, they headed for the cabin. “What’s for the afternoon?” Denny asked, excited.
“We are taking out the bots and setting them up,” Ian said, and Denny grinned wider.
“Denny, you and the others are staying,” Lance said, and the grin fell off so fast, it almost tripped Denny. “You need to learn more on guns before you go out again. Don’t think if you were with your dad, I would change my mind.”
While Denny felt crushed, Ian spoke up. “Denny, why would we say something like that?”
Denny looked up, trying to think as Ian looked over at Allie. “Allie, why would we say that?” Ian asked.
“Because those who don’t know how to move and shoot, endanger those who can,” Allie answered. “They have to cover for the weaker ones, leaving them vulnerable along with the group.”
Realizing what she was saying, Denny looked up at Lance. “I’m sorry, I acted like a pussy,” he said, and Lori gasped at her brother.
Forsaken World (Book 4): Dark Crossing Page 21