by Laura Taylor
Which was not necessarily a good thing.
They made it to the end of the road and turned right, but the next trick would be finding a clear route back to the main road. Aidan tried to reload his gun as they went, knowing they could well be in need of more firepower in just a short while.
Sure enough, as they came to the next street, running parallel to the one with the school, there was a vehicle clearly parked in the road at the far end. Would the slavers have enough cars to block all the exits? There must be at least six of them…
There was a bit of yelling and gesturing between the two drivers, and if they made it out of here, Aidan was going to have to come up with some sort of reward for each of them. Driving a car wasn’t something that anyone got to practise much these days, and they were doing a better job of it than anyone could have expected, given the circumstances. One of the utes turned right at the next road, the exit currently clear, but the one Aidan was in kept going, passing the next road and turning at the third.
They raced for the main road as fast as the car would take them, all the men bracing themselves and hanging on tight as they approached the end of the road. Without so much as touching the brake, the driver spun the wheel, sending them around the corner on screeching tyres.
Predictably, one of the slaver’s vehicles had moved to block the end of the other street where the second ute was trying to make its getaway, but intensive training and plenty of experience meant Aidan’s men were ready to anticipate the next step in their strategy. Five of them aimed their rifles at the Eden men sheltering by the car and sent a spray of bullets at them from behind. Attacked from both sides, the men scattered, leaving a momentary gap for the second ute to slide through.
Now they were both back on the main road and heading in the right direction, but that didn’t mean they were clear of the danger. Two of the slaver’s vehicles were blocking the road, guns aimed squarely in their direction.
Trees growing beside the road and a wide ditch on one side meant that going around them wasn’t going to be much of an option. But the end of the world had made men both tough and creative, and the drivers weren’t going to admit defeat yet. Both were swerving from side to side to make it harder to shoot them, and then suddenly a gap in the trees opened up to the right of the road. The first driver took the opening, gasps and yelps coming from the men in the tray as the car squeezed between two trees, scarcely two inches of space on either side. He hit a rock and the car lurched sideways, then straightened, and shot out back onto the road, clipping the corner of the Eden tribe’s four-wheel-drive and taking out three of their men like they were bowling pins.
The second ute squeezed through the gap, a fraction slower than the first, and then they were both free, nothing standing between themselves and the road home.
Now, though, the slavers were ready to give chase. The one vehicle still within range of them spun its wheels, then shot forward, closing the distance between them fast, bullets whizzing over the utes, a couple of clanging thuds sounding as two bullets hit the thick metal of the tray. The men at the back of the trays lined up their rifles to fire back, and by some miracle, one of the bullets hit the front tyre of the pursuing car. It spun sideways, tossing men off the narrow boards along its sides. But one of them managed to cling on, and in a fit of rage, he emptied his pistol in their direction. Just when Aidan thought they might have managed to pull this crazy plan off, he felt a sudden searing heat in his shoulder.
Dusk moved quickly, punching Archer in the face and giving Rochelle the leverage she needed to break free. She spun around, ready to help Willow next, but suddenly four more men burst through the trees. Torrent hauled River off Willow, tossing him aside like he was a bale of straw. Nicholas got himself between Rochelle and Archer, and for a moment, it was hard to tell which of them he was trying to protect. Feeling the need to be the voice of reason, for all her desire to punch Archer again, Dusk pulled Rochelle away, doing her best to talk her down. “It’s all over,” she said breathlessly. “The point’s been made. You don’t need to hit him again.”
“That cock-sucking dip-shit should have his dick cut off!” Rochelle yelled over Dusk’s shoulder, and she glanced over to see Nicholas helping Mark to his feet. Torrent had gone to Mei-Lien, who was now crying instead of screaming, and checked she hadn’t been harmed. Hawk was helping Willow to her feet, checking a cut on her lip that was trickling blood down her chin.
Once it was clear that no one had been seriously injured, Hawk turned to the men who’d attacked them. “Well, that was a rather shameful display,” he said coldly.
“Oh, come on,” Mark said, his nose bleeding freely. “We were just having a little fun. Then the crazy bitches turned all psycho on us.”
“And right now you’re making it real tempting for me to hit you as well,” Hawk snapped back at him. Dusk was rather pleased to see that the other men weren’t going to fall for their attackers’ lame attempts at minimising what they’d just done. “I’m not entirely sure what we do next, but Aidan and Whisper will have something to say about this when they get back.” It was rather charming, the way he was trying to take charge without really knowing how to do it. Hawk glanced at Nicholas for support, and the older man nodded.
“Damn right they will. How about you get back to work,” he said, pointing to the three men, all bruised and bleeding, “and for the moment, perhaps it would be better if you ladies came and worked in the village instead of out here on your own?”
“Oh, come on, I’m bleeding,” Archer complained. “We’re going to go get cleaned up first.” He took two steps forward, then had to stop as Hawk got in his face.
“You can damn well stand there and bleed,” Hawk told him. “And if I have my way about it, you’ll be bleeding a whole lot more after the others get back.”
“Don’t mind him,” River said with a sneer. “He wouldn’t know what to do with a woman if he had one. He’s too busy getting his dick sucked by Mario.” He made a kissing noise at Hawk, then picked up his wheelbarrow and moved off, the other two falling in behind him, throwing a couple of dirty looks over their shoulders.
Hawk watched them go impassively. Given what Aidan had told her, Dusk suspected that River’s accusation could well be true. But she couldn’t quite figure out how to tell Hawk that she didn’t give a shit who he was sleeping with, without sounding condescending about it.
“Let’s get you four cleaned up,” Nicholas suggested, and Dusk rolled her eyes, her patience once again teetering on the verge of snapping. “So, once again, the men behave badly, and the women get their freedom restricted,” she protested. “They go back to work with no consequences and we go and sit quietly in the village.”
Hawk sighed, sounding a little exasperated. “We’re just trying to help,” he said. “We’re all still just figuring this out as we go along.” As far as Dusk was concerned, there wasn’t much to figure out, but she supposed it wouldn’t kill her to stop being a bitch about it.
“Fine,” she said, knowing she was splattered with blood and that she was going to have a few bruises come the end of the day. “Thank you for your help.” She picked up her basket of fruit and started down the hill.
“You’re welcome,” she heard Hawk mutter behind her, and she couldn’t be sure, but she thought she heard laughter in his voice.
They’d nearly made it to the fire circle when Dave appeared, Mikey and Julia in tow. He saw the bruises and the blood and swore. “Are you okay? I didn’t want to leave the kids alone when everyone else took off.” He winced as he caught sight of Willow’s split lip. “Who the fuck did that?”
“Mark, River and Archer decided to cause some trouble,” Nicholas filled him in. “We’re just going to get them cleaned up.”
“You want me to watch the kids for a bit longer?” Dave offered. “I’m not too busy this afternoon.”
“It’s fine, I’ll take them,” Willow said, waving the children to follow her as they headed for the medical cabin. “Thank y
ou for your help.” It was telling that she suddenly wanted to keep them close by her side.
“Good men, are they?” Dusk murmured to her as they made their way along the path. “You’ll forgive me if I’m not totally convinced yet.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Dusk was in the middle of washing her clothes out the front of her cabin when the first shout came. “They’re back! They’re back!” Sure enough, the dull drone of car engines sounded soon after, and she dropped her dripping shirt back in the bucket and rushed along the path and up the hill. Mei-Lien passed her on the way there, grinning and clapping, no doubt eager to inspect all her new equipment. A couple of hours had passed since the incident in the orchard, and everyone had calmed down for the moment, although from various comments that had been made, it was clear there would be consequences for the men’s actions. But before they even got close enough to see the vehicles, the shouts of welcome suddenly changed.
“Where’s Mei-Lien?” one man asked, sharp and urgent and, with a worried glance back at Dusk, Mei-Lien quickened her pace. A man appeared at the top of the slope, skidding to a halt as he saw Mei-Lien already on her way. “Get up here,” he ordered her, waving for her to hurry. “They’ve been shot.”
Dusk heard a gasp behind her, and glanced back to see Willow coming up the path. They both ran for the top, and when the two vehicles came into sight, Dusk’s heart just about stopped in her chest. There was blood smeared on the side of the nearest ute, one man being lifted out, blood soaking his shirt. Mei-Lien rushed forward, pushing her way in to get a look at him.
Another man managed to climb out of the tray himself, but he landed awkwardly on a wounded leg, and would have fallen over if Stormbreaker hadn’t caught him.
Stick was there a moment later, getting his shoulder under the man’s arm to support him, and they began a slow, hobbling walk down into the village. Torrent and Hawk arrived next, having heard the shouts, and got to work unloading the wounded men.
“Whisper! Are you hurt? Are you all right?” Willow was a mess of concern, and she tried to pat him down, to see if any of the blood on him was his own, but he brusquely brushed her aside.
“I’m fine. Dusk?” he snapped, handing his rifle to another man, who was hastily collecting all the weapons. He opened the passenger door of the ute, and from where she was standing, Dusk could only see a bloody smear on the door handle and an arm, soaked in blood. “Get over here. Aidan’s been shot.”
Inside the medical cabin, Mei-Lien leaned over Mario’s leg. He was sweating, clearly in pain, but determined not to make a fuss. Mei-Lien snipped off the thread and gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “Two more stitches, then you’re all done,” she told him. He nodded, gritting his teeth as she went to place the next suture. The wound on his leg was ugly, but even though dog bites tended to get infected, the men had reported that it had bled freely for a while, helping to clear any bacteria out, and then they’d cleaned it on their way home, so Mei-Lien was hoping it wasn’t going to turn septic. “Ask Nicholas to make a poultice for it,” she advised, as she finished the last stitch and helped Mario off the table. “I think he said meadowsweet was good for infections.”
She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, trying to get her hair out of her face, and was surprised when Torrent stepped into her line of view. After getting the men out of the utes, he’d been helping Whisper treat the less serious injuries. He pressed her hands out of the way and wiped her face with a damp cloth, and Mei-Lien realised she’d probably just smeared blood across her forehead. Then he went around behind her and gently pulled her hair back into a ponytail, securing it with a length of cord. She smiled gratefully at him, then took the cloth to wipe her hands. “How’s Steve?” she asked softly. The homesteader was resting on a portable cot, set up at the side of the room, and Nicholas had been trying to keep him as comfortable as possible. The wound on his leg was red and inflamed, but his immune system seemed to be handling the infection reasonably well. They still needed to get the shards of wood out of his leg, though.
“As well as can be expected,” Torrent told her. “He’s upset about his wife and daughter, so he’s not being terribly cooperative at the moment.”
Mei-Lien nodded, understanding Steve’s frustration. But another question had been bothering her, ever since the men had arrived back and she’d found herself treating multiple dog bites.
“Why don’t we have dogs?” she asked, scrubbing at a stubborn splash of blood on her hand. “They’d be a huge advantage for the tribe. And there must have been plenty of pet dogs that were abandoned after the collapse. I know there are wild dogs around. You can hear them at night.”
Torrent sighed. “Same story as usual,” he said, running a hand over his face. “We used to. Up until two years ago, we had three of them. Then they all caught parvovirus and died. Nature’s making life a hell of a lot more difficult for us these days. We’re on the lookout for a litter of puppies – we could steal one from a pack of wild dogs, if we ever manage to find their den, but so far, we haven’t been able to. Dogs would make a hell of a difference, though. For hunting, tracking, guarding the village…”
“Hey, Torrent, can you hand me another roll of bandage,” Whisper called from where he was still patching up one of the other men, and Torrent hurried over to the medicine cabinet to fetch one.
At the same time, the door opened, and Stormbreaker shuffled in sideways, carrying a box of equipment looted from the science lab. He set it down next to two other boxes that Mei-Lien hadn’t noticed yet, too caught up in treating her patients.
“Oh, you got it!” she cried, rushing over to rummage through the boxes. “A condenser! Perfect! And the conical flasks, and a thermometer. Fantastic! And you got sulphuric acid!” She set the bottle of acid down carefully on the bench, then caught Stormbreaker in a hard hug. “Thank you so much!” She let him go a moment later, going back to poring over the supplies, the impulsive gesture immediately forgotten. Stormbreaker smiled and shook his head, amused at her girlish enthusiasm. But then he glanced over to where Whisper was finishing up treating his last patient. Torrent was staring at him, a black glare on his face, and it took Stormbreaker a moment to realise the reason for it. He glanced automatically at Mei-Lien, her attention focused solely on the contents of her precious boxes, and then Stormbreaker shot Torrent a look of pure disgust before he headed out the door again. He’d had the chance to marry Mei-Lien, and had turned her down, and he had absolutely no regrets about the decision. If Torrent wanted to waste time getting jealous about the whole thing, he was an idiot.
Dusk peered at Aidan’s arm, relieved to find an exit wound, as well as an entry one. “Looks like it went straight through,” she said, dabbing at the seeping blood. “You’re damn lucky.”
“Doesn’t exactly feel that way.” He was sitting on a stool in their cabin, bare-chested, with his bloody shirt draped over his knee. He’d refused to go to the medical cabin on the grounds that there were other people more seriously injured than him and he’d just be getting in the way. Not in the mood to argue with the stubborn man, Dusk had dragged him away to their own cabin instead, cleaning and treating his wound herself. Though she didn’t have Mei-Lien’s qualifications or Whisper’s experience, no one lived long in this world without learning a few things about first aid and patching up injuries. The initial panic she’d felt at Whisper’s blunt declaration that Aidan had been shot had faded now, replaced with a relief that left her feeling a little shaky, along with a warm admiration at his stoicism.
“Can you feel this?” Dusk asked, pinching one of Aidan’s fingers.
“Yes,” he replied, his tone suggesting he was merely humouring her.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she retorted immediately. “I want to make sure there’s no nerve damage. Can you feel this?” she asked, pinching another finger.
“Yes.”
“And can you make a fist?” He curled his fingers inwards, wincing as he did so.
“All right, looks like you’ll live. Let me bandage this, and we’re all done.”
“It’s fine,” Aidan said, losing patience with all the fuss, but Dusk wasn’t having it.
“Look, I get it,” she said, in as condescending a tone as possible. “You’re a big, tough man, and you want to stay in character. That’s fine. But let me remind you that if this gets dirt in it, an infection can still kill you.”
“Oh, I’m well aware of that, thank you very much,” he said drily. She made short work of dressing the wound, securing a bandage firmly around it and tying it off.
As she moved away to clean up, Aidan caught her hands, pressing a kiss to the back of one. They were rough hands, tanned and leathery after years of hard work outdoors. “Thank you,” he said softly, looking her in the eye. “I brought you a present. From town.” He leaned down and rummaged beneath the pile of rags he’d dropped on the floor when they’d first arrived. He’d made a damn fuss about collecting something from the car before he’d let Dusk drag him down here and, more concerned about his wound and the amount of blood on his clothes, she hadn’t paid much attention at the time. But now, he pulled out a rectangular, green package, and it was so long since she’d seen one like it that it took Dusk a moment to recognise it.
“Coffee? Oh my God, it’s actually, real coffee! You are a champion! And we’ve got milk, too! Best Christmas ever!” she said gleefully, though it was currently well into February.
“We don’t have any filter papers,” Aidan told her, “but we can probably rig up something with a cotton cloth to filter it through.
“Yeah, awesome. Not a problem,” Dusk agreed easily, not concerned about the details. If they could magic an anaesthetic agent out of a couple of bottles of five-year-old chemicals, making a cup of coffee couldn’t be too much of a problem. She reached down for her knife, intending to slice the packet open and just inhale that heavenly aroma… but as she did so, Aidan caught her chin in his hand, a sudden, deep frown on his face.