by V. L. Dreyer
"Huh?" Confused, I blinked owlishly at him. "I didn't do anything for Jasmine. I mean, aside from saving her sister, but I would have done that anyway."
"It's way more than that," he replied, shaking his head. "You've given her something that I can't. You've given her a role-model. She's never seen a grown woman that's smart, capable, and a leader before. You impressed her in a way that I never could. I mean, do you know where she is right now?"
"You said she went to go get some things?" I answered, shrugging.
"I did, but to be specific, she's gone to pack her things." He grinned suddenly, and grabbed my arm. "She wants us to go with you, Sandy. I've never seen her this excited about something before. She told me that she wants all of us to follow you, so that she can learn to be like you when she grows up." He paused, and gave me a long look. "If you'll have us, that is."
"Well, that's a silly question," I said with a laugh. "I plan to build a city, Gav – I'm going to need as many people as I can get. And if those kids really want to join us, then they're welcome. All that we ask is that they contribute to the group in some way, and… you know, not try to claw Doc's eyes out again."
Gavin joined in laughing, nodding his head. "That wasn't normal! Lily's the shy, gentle one. She would never have done that under normal circumstances."
"Then they're both welcome, and I hope that the other kids will come along as well." I glanced back over my shoulder, in the direction of the makeshift bedroom where our children were busy teaching themselves to read. "Everyone's welcome, so long as they agree to abide by our rules."
"What rules are those?" he asked, looking at me expectantly.
"Simple ones, really." I glanced back at him, and smiled. "Don't kill, hurt, or threaten another member of this group unless it is in self-defence. No one has the right to abuse anyone else, verbally, physically, or sexually. Don't steal from us, or from each other. Treat other people the way you want to be treated. Breaches of the rules will be decided before a quorum chosen from within the group, as will the punishments."
"I see you've put some thought into it," Gavin replied. He went quiet for a moment while he considered what I'd said, then nodded slowly. "Sounds good to me. We should go get your radio message out, so that we can move on before it gets too dangerous here. I, for one, have no desire to meet one of your mutated infected."
"Hey, they're not my mutated infected," I protested, only half joking. "They're everyone's problem."
"I know." He gave me a weak smile. "Sorry, that was meant to be a joke. I remember you having quite the sense of humour."
"And you never were any good at telling jokes." I grinned at him in return, and clapped my hand on his shoulders. "All right, then. Do you want to wake up Doc?"
"No, no need," he replied, shaking his head. "Lily's fine. Doctor Cross told me that she passed the danger point in the middle of the night, and now she's just sleeping it off."
"Good. Poor kid doesn't deserve that kind of treatment." I stepped past him, and led the way towards the exit. Along the way, I found Michael sitting on the floor in one of the side rooms with a bunch of assorted weapon pieces spread out on old towels all around him. I stopped and leaned against the door frame, watching him work. Gavin joined me a second later, but neither of us said anything.
It took a few seconds before Michael noticed us. When he did, he glanced up and gave me a smile. "Morning, sunshine. Just cleaning the guns; they don't like being wet for too long. The shotgun's already done, if you want it."
"What, you're not going to tease me for sleeping so late?" I commented dryly, folding my arms across my chest.
Michael laughed and shook his head. "Now, would I do a thing like that?"
"Of course," I replied with some amusement. "That's why I agreed to marry you, isn't it?"
"Oh yeah. How could I forget?" Michael grinned that silly grin of his, and picked up the shotgun resting beside his knee. He held it up to me, and I took it. I quickly checked that it was loaded and the safety was firmly in place, then I put the strap over my shoulder and adjusted it across my back.
"Thank you for cleaning it for me," I said, turning serious again. "I should have remembered to do that myself, but after yesterday's excitement…"
Michael just held up a hand, and shook his head. "You don't have to apologise to me, sweetheart. That's what husbands are for, remember? We're partners. We watch each other's backs. We help each other up if we fall down. We may not be married yet, but that's what I want to be for you: your partner, through the good times and the bad."
I felt a flush of heat rise in my cheeks, and suddenly I was both pleased and embarrassed. I gave him a shy smile, then glanced away and quickly changed the subject. "We're heading down to work on the radio. Do you want to come?"
Michael paused to consider it. I glanced up just in time to see him shake his head. "Nah, I better stay here and finish up. I need to get these back to the troops as soon as possible. It's still pretty nasty out there, so most of them are holed up in one of the rooms downstairs, playing cards."
"Okay," I agreed. "I've got my radio on me. Call if you need anything."
"Will do." Michael sketched a salute, and then he glanced past me at Gavin. "Keep an eye on her, old man. I'll hold you responsible if anything eats her."
His sense of humour might have been a little rusty, but Gavin clearly understood the light-hearted comment for what it was. It was hard not to, when Michael was grinning like a fool. Gavin gave him a mock salute in return. "Sure, I'll keep an eye on her… but only one. I've only got one to spare."
"Okay, that one was actually pretty good," I said with a laugh. "I'm going to have to make you two spend some quality time together, so Michael's sense of humour rubs off on you."
Both of them laughed at that. I grinned and waved to Michael, then led Gavin out of the room. Once we were out of earshot, Gavin glanced at me and smiled. "He's a good man, your fiancé."
"I know," I said. "To be honest, I don't think there's another man alive who could have done what he did. I was a total wreck when we met. I didn't think it was possible for me to fall in love again, but he proved me wrong. I don't know what I'd do without him."
"Let's hope that you never have to find out," Gavin said softly. I just nodded my agreement, and led us onwards. We made our way past the barricade, down the stairs, and into the lobby where I found Nikora and Wiremu on duty beside the door.
"Morning, Nick, Will," I greeted them, using their preferred nicknames. "How's it going?"
"Pretty shite, but it could be worse. At least we're not out in that." Nikora grinned good-naturedly, and jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the door. "You two for in or out?"
"Out, unfortunately," I replied, pulling my hood up over my head. I shoved my hair under the leather as best I could, and peered past them at the gloomy weather. "I guess winter finally caught up with us."
"Well, we were about due for it," Will commented, heaving a long, dramatic sigh. "Ah, well. So the Lord deems it, so it must be. Let's just hope it doesn't start snowing."
"Amen to that," I agreed. Nick unlocked the door and held it open for me. I nodded my thanks and stepped out, only to be hit in the face by a blast of frigid wind. Behind me, I heard Gavin gasp and mutter a curse under his breath, to which I could only grunt wordless agreement. I pulled my collar up and hurried off towards the radio station as fast as I could, ducking from one patch of shelter to the next.
No matter how hard I tried, I still ended up soaked by the time I reached the front door. I hopped over the broken frame, and ducked into the shelter within. Elly was alone on watch this time, huddled up inside a thick woollen blanket for warmth. She nodded to me, but said nothing.
"Morning," I greeted her. "No Rebecca today?"
"No, she has come down with a cold," Elly replied. She sniffed and rubbed her nose, then gave me a pathetic look. "She is not alone, but I would rather be here watching over Zain than anywhere else."
"Aw, no one told me you g
uys were sick." I frowned at her and put my hands on my hips. "You should have said something. We found a bunch of jars of honey in Arapuni, so the doctor could have mixed you up something to make you feel better."
"I know, but I did not wish to wake him." Elly gave me a pathetic attempt at a smile, and made a shooing gesture. "You stay away. I do not want you to get sick as well."
"Okay, but you're on light duties until you feel better," I instructed gently. "And if anyone has a problem with that, tell them to bring it up with me."
Elly nodded quietly, and huddled under her blanket again. I took her silence to mean that her throat was probably hurting, so I didn't press her to keep talking. I just gave her a sympathetic smile, and headed down the hallway towards the back of the building. Both of the studios were empty, but the sound of voices arguing led me to the old lunchroom where I found my more technically-minded companions sitting around the table, looking frustrated.
"This is ridiculous," Jim complained, pounding his good fist on the table. "I'm not a sound engineer. None of us are. How on earth are we supposed to work this out?"
"He's right." Zain sighed deeply. He was holding a thick book, which he dropped on the table with a heavy thud. "This manual may as well be written in Greek, for all the good it does us."
Suddenly, Anahera appeared from behind the partition that separated the kitchenette from the tables, with mugs of steaming hot black coffee in her hands. She set one mug down in front of each of the men at the table.
"Calmness, my friends. We'll work this out together." She glanced up and gave me a warm smile. "Good morning. Would you care for some coffee? I also have some leftover food back here, if you'd like some."
"I can't tell if that's my stomach rumbling or the thunder, but I'd love some of both, please," I said. She nodded and went back to the kitchenette, while I shifted my attention to my unhappy engineers. "As for the radio… well, it turns out that we have someone right here that can help. Gavin?"
"I was a communications officer in the army for ten years," he explained, right on cue. "Radios were my life blood, until I resigned my commission to start a family. These commercial stations are a little different to the ones I'm used to, but I should have no trouble getting it going. You blokes willing to give me a hand?"
Zain and Jim exchanged startled looks, but Richard and Ropata smiled. All of them rose to their feet and nodded their agreement.
I glanced at Gavin, and raised a brow. "Well, looks like you've got your assistants. Don't you want to wait until after breakfast, though?"
"No, I don't usually eat in the morning, and I'd rather get this sorted." Gavin gestured to his newfound comrades, and then the five of them vanished into the hallway.
A second later, Anahera returned with a steaming cup in one hand, and a plate of scrambled eggs in the other. The eggs were cold, but I took them gratefully anyway. I sat down in one of the recently-vacated seats, and sipped my coffee. Anahera seated herself opposite me, watching me thoughtfully.
"You know, I don't think we've ever had the chance to speak alone," she murmured, trailing her fingers across the hot surface of her own mug.
I paused with a forkful of eggs half way to my mouth, and gave her a curious look. "Well, there was that one time on the docks at your old place."
"Ah, yes. I'd forgotten about that." She sighed and glanced down at her drink, as though seeking to divine something from the dark brew. "It's still hard to believe that I'll never see my home again."
"I know." I put my fork down, and reached across the table to touch her hand sympathetically. "I just wish that we'd thought to warn you earlier. I don't think I've told you how much I regret that."
"You don't have to." She smiled faintly, and placed her free hand over top of mine. "I understand you, Sandrine McDermott. I see much pain in your eyes, yet so much determination. It was a mistake that anyone could have made in a time of such stress. I hold nothing against you."
"Thank you." I smiled back at her, and gently withdrew my hand so that I could resume eating. Cold or not, the moment that I felt that food on my tongue, I was ravenous. I had almost finished before I realised that Anahera was watching me closely. I paused, and looked at her quizzically. "What is it?"
"Nothing, my dear. You just seem to be feeling better this morning, and that pleases me." She gave me one of those enigmatic smiles of hers that always made me feel like she knew something I didn't. "Would you like another helping? I wasn't sure how many we were going to be feeding, so I made more than necessary."
"I won't say no," I replied, setting my fork down on the empty plate. "Doc keeps hounding me to put some more weight on."
"As well he should. You are still much too thin." Anahera took my plate and stood up, her expression one of maternal kindness. "Don't worry about it too much. Now that we're living together I'm sure I'll be able to fatten you up."
"Don't fatten me up too much, or Michael will cancel the wedding," I said with a laugh, even though I knew it wasn't true. Hell, Michael seemed to like me even better when I gained a few more curves.
"Wedding?" Anahera popped back around the partition and stared at me, wide-eyed. "You two are engaged now?"
"Oh." I froze, suddenly realising that she was probably the one person that didn't know. "Oh, yeah. I guess I forgot to tell you. After the talk you gave us, we decided to get tentatively engaged, and just let things progress as they will. We've swapped rings, but it's nothing set in stone."
"Oh, Sandy, that's wonderful news." Before I quite knew what had happened, she'd pulled me out of my chair and swept me up into a hug. "Congratulations! I am thrilled for both of you."
"I thought you might be." Laughing, I hugged her back. "Sorry. I told you about everything else but I guess I forgot about that. It's been a busy few weeks, you know?"
"No, I completely understand." Anahera pushed me back and smiled radiantly at me. Just as suddenly as she'd grabbed me, she let me go. A second later, I found myself back in my chair with another helping of eggs in front of me. "Now, eat up and tell me all about it."
Chapter Nineteen
Anahera and I talked for almost an hour over our coffee. At one stage, I got up to check on the men, but they were deeply engrossed in what they were doing and informed me that another set of hands would just get in the way. We went back to the kitchen and talked some more, until I accidentally disclosed that Elly was feeling ill.
Unsurprisingly, Anahera wasn't about to let her suffer. She hurried off to find the fixings for hot, honeyed tea, leaving me on my own. I washed my dish and mug out of habit, and returned them to the cupboard that they'd been borrowed from, then I went out to check on Elly. She was still awake and alert but miserable, and waved me away when I tried to enquire about her welfare.
With nothing better to do to pass the time, I decided to check out the local shops and see if there was anything left that had survived the riots. I ducked across the road, only to discover that the buildings over there were a perfect cross-section of things that were utterly useless to us now: several banks, a few offices advertising law services or politicians, and a post office. The only place that might be remotely useful was a small optometrist's office on the corner. Thinking of Doc's scratched lenses, I made a mental note to bring him over and check it out before we left town. In the meantime, I headed eastwards along the road, back towards the shopping centre.
My instinct told me that if there was anything useful left here, then that was where I'd find it. Part of me felt guilty for defying my own orders and going off on my own, but I was confident in my ability to defend myself should the need arise. I slipped my shotgun off my shoulder, just in case, and eased the safety off.
I ducked across a silent intersection, picking my way between a half-dozen cars in various states of disrepair, to the footpath on the other side. There, through the twisting vines of an overgrown plant, I spotted the familiar logo of a chain brand pharmacy. As soon as I got close to the door, my heart sank. The pharmacy had been ra
nsacked.
"Since when did you get so spoiled that you care about that?" I muttered to myself, suddenly amused. I lifted my shotgun to my shoulder, and carefully stepped into the carnage within.
As soon as I crossed the threshold, I realised that 'carnage' was not an overstatement. Pieces that had once belonged to other human beings lay scattered across the floor, now reduced to nothing but bones and scraps of flesh. I took a deep breath and swallowed hard, struggling to keep my breakfast down. It wasn't hard to piece together the scene from the way the bodies lay; they'd come in frantically looking for medicine, and never left. I guessed they had been fighting one another for what little was available – not that any of it would help them.
I stepped carefully over the remains of someone's torso, and picked my way towards the back counter. The moment I got there, I realised that the hunt was going to be useless. I could see shattered vials and half-crumbled pills scattered across the floor like a carpet of melting candy. Someone had already been there, and thrown whatever they didn't want into a heap on the floor. Sorting it out would be impossible, even with the doctor's expertise. I withdrew, and focused my attention on searching the shelves instead.
A quick search of the usual places turned up a few packs of cloth bandages that had slipped under a shelf, but little else of value. I tucked the bandages into the inside pocket of my coat, and ducked back out into the rain.
Next door, I found a Salvation Army store that had been covered in graffiti but otherwise left alone. The door was still firmly shut and locked; the butt of my shotgun made quick work of the glass window pane. The noise made me flinch, but nothing stirred either inside or out. I waited for a second, just to be sure that I wasn't going to be ambushed, then I stepped over the broken glass into the store itself.
It took a moment for my eyes to adjust, but once they did I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the store was mostly intact. There were no stinking corpses, and I saw very little in the way of mould. Our world was full of discarded clothing, but I was painfully aware of the fact that the resources available to us were finite. Cloth didn't expire like food, but it did rot, tear, and fall apart with wear and exposure to the elements. Our generation might be able to pick and choose for a while, but the next would not survive so easily.