by KD Jones
Kyle helped her mother get on the transport on the middle bench seating. Rachel didn’t wait for him to help her and she hopped up next to her mother. She stuck her chin up at Kyle when he frowned at her.
“Can I sit up front with you?” a female voice asked from behind Kyle.
Rachel couldn’t see who it was that spoke until Kyle turned. It was Maisy Cole. She was a few years older than Rachel and often competed with Rachel for attention. She waited for Kyle to refuse her, but he didn’t.
“Of course, Miss…?”
“Maisy Cole. This is the first time I’ve gotten to meet you Drastans. When you came to my dome I was sick. But I am better now and ready to help out. This is all very exciting.” Maisy reached out and touched Kyle on his arm. He smiled down at her and helped her into the front passenger’s seat.
Rachel fought a growl that wanted to launch from her throat. Come on — was he really falling for all that eye fluttering and groping? Kyle should have better taste than to let Maisy Cole weasel her way into his life.
“Are you all right, dear?” Rachel’s mother asked with concern.
Rachel shook her head and turned to her mother. “I’m fine, just feeling a little bit anxious.”
“That’s understandable. We were here last time for just a few hours, but this time we will be here a couple of weeks. It’s the longest I’ve been away from your father since he became a lieutenant colonel. I guess I’ve gotten used to him always being there for me.”
Rachel thought about how often her mother had to be both a mother and father to her and to Maggie while they were growing up and their father served in the military. It must have been not only hard on her but also lonely.
“I don’t know how you did it for so long, raising us basically all on your own. I don’t know if I could ever do it.”
Her mother wrapped her arm around Rachel’s shoulder and gave her a hug. “I won’t lie, there were times that I found it beyond hard. But I had your grandparents and my friends on the military base helping me whenever they could. You girls were worth it and to be honest, having the two of you to take care of helped take my mind off of the dangers that your father faced. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I love you two so very much and I am proud of both of you.”
“Thanks Mom. I’m proud of you too.” She leaned over and kissed her mother’s cheek. When she turned back to sit forward, she caught Kyle’s eyes watching her. She felt her cheeks warm up and she had to turn her head to look in a different direction. This was going to be a long ride.
It took about an hour before they reached the tribe community. Some of the children rushed out to greet them as they pulled up. Rachel looked at the thinning material that many of them wore and she felt guilty for her closet full of clothes. She would make sure to clean out what she didn’t use and bring it down here. She would also take up a collection of children’s clothes and food.
The dome had been stocked with plenty of food, clothing, and medicine, so she never realized how much she had taken for granted until she came down to the subway tunnels. No wonder so many thought she was spoiled and useless. She had to change that about herself.
Rachel had tried to get off the transport before Kyle offered to help, but he moved fast, appearing at her side and taking her hand to help her out before she could avoid him.
The moment their skin touched, Rachel could have sworn she felt electricity race up her arm, through her entire body, then focus on her pussy. Fuck, if the guy could make her body react like this by simply touching her hand, what would happen if he decided to kiss her?
At that thought her eyes immediately sought out his lips. They were simply perfect, with the bottom lip slightly bigger than the top. She licked her lips and noticed how his eyes were drawn to that motion. Was he just as affected as she was?
“Mrs. James, Rachel, it is good to see the two of you again.” A tall woman with long black hair spoke as she approached them with her young son in tow.
“Hi, Lily, dear, it’s so good to see you again,” her mom commented.
Rachel smiled warmly at the other woman. Lily Tyner was an exceptionally good-looking woman. She had long dark hair and green eyes. Her son was just as adorable. “Hi, Lily. Hi, Thomas.”
“Hi.” Little Thomas ducked behind his mom’s legs.
Rachel smiled as her mother knelt down and held out a wrapped package. “I brought this just for you, Thomas. Maggie said it was your birthday and she wished she could have come to help celebrate, but she isn’t up to traveling. So instead, she asked me to bring you a present. She hopes you’ll like it.”
Thomas looked up at his mom first before he stepped forward to take the package. “What is it?’
“You’ll have to open it and see.” Rachel told him as she squatted down beside her mother in order to be at eye level with Thomas.
Thomas carefully unwrapped his package and then his eyes lit up. “It’s a spaceship!”
“Yes, Maggie got someone to make a replica of the Drastan command ship for you. And Mom and I were able to find you these.” Rachel handed him a different package from her own travel bag.
Thomas tore into the second package much faster. Inside were two army figurines.
“We thought you would need to have a commander and a lieutenant for your new spaceship,” Rachel said.
“I love them!” Thomas threw his arms around Rachel’s neck and then around her mother’s neck. “Thank you! Mom, can I go show my friends what I got?”
Lily looked down at her son and nodded her head. “Don’t wander off into the tunnels. Be within eyesight of adults at all times. And make sure that you share your toys.”
“Yes, Momma!” Thomas ran off, calling out his friends’ names.
Lily turned to Rachel and Melissa. “Thank you so much for doing that.”
“We’re happy to be able to make him happy. Every child should have a present on his birthday.” Melissa said, her voice choking up.
Rachel hugged her mom. She knew what her mom was thinking because she was thinking the same thing. All the missed birthdays with Maggie. All the presents Maggie never got to receive. Rachel took for granted the cakes and presents she had gotten while Maggie was struggling in the subway tunnels just to survive.
“We always try to make the birthdays around here special in some small way. Since we have so little to give, we put the emphasis on being together. We are each other’s family. Thomas and I really miss Maggie.”
The three women walked together toward the line of subway cars. Rachel looked to the side and noticed that Kyle had moved away directing people where to unload. He glanced her way, and she spun away quickly, embarrassed that he caught her watching him.
“Is that okay with you, Rachel?” Lily asked.
Crap! She hadn’t been paying attention to what was being said. “I’m sorry ― what did you say?”
“I said that your mother could stay with Corey Nash’s mother, Irene, and you could stay with me and Thomas. Is that okay?”
“Yeah, that sounds fine.” Rachel nodded her head. She refused to look back again at Kyle. The man was far too distracting.
“Come, let me introduce you to Irene. Melissa, I think you and Irene will have a lot in common to talk about.” Lily led them through the small crowd that was growing and watching as more supplies were brought in. Rachel hoped the next two weeks would be a real eye-opener for her. She needed a change in her life.
*****
Kyle couldn’t believe that the lieutenant colonel would allow his wife and youngest daughter to come down here for two weeks. He had a job to do and didn’t need the distraction. It was going to be pure hell if he had to follow her around like a watchdog. He already had a hard enough time keeping his eyes off of her.
He sighed as he glanced over to where Rachel had disappeared into one of the subway cars. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. Her blonde hair was curled in waves that cascaded down her back, and her blue eyes sparkled when she was angry. He
found himself wanting to antagonize her so that she would be angry and her eyes would shine at him. His body responded and his cock was growing thick and hard. He had to adjust himself to be more comfortable. She was going to be trouble — no doubt about it.
He turned away and walked further down the tunnel. He wanted to circle the perimeter and check in with his team and the human security team. Then he would work on setting up his traveling tent. He was offered to share a subway car with two others, but he preferred to have his own space. Now it looked like he was going to be moving his tent closer in than he had anticipated.
“Hey Kyle, Miss James dropped this. Should I go and return it to her?” asked his cousin, Lieutenant Quinn Estro, holding out a small book in his hand.
Kyle took the book from his cousin. He didn’t want Quinn anywhere near Rachel. He had noticed all the flirting his cousin did with the women at Liam and Maggie’s reception, but he also noticed Quinn had paid the most attention to Rachel, and she had returned the flirtation. He would have to keep Quinn away from Rachel for the next two weeks. That added another task he was burdened with.
“I’ll give it back to her.” He waited for Quinn to walk away before he glanced down at the book. It was leather-bound and worn. The top cover had lettering that read “Diary.” Was this Rachel’s personal journal? He knew he should take it to her immediately, but he wanted to find out more about her. He tucked the book inside his jacket to read later. He’d give it back once he was done with it.
Chapter 5
Later that evening
Rachel watched as Lily put Thomas into his small makeshift bed. “Is he asleep already?” She smiled when she saw he was holding onto his spaceship and figurines. Lily gently pulled them free and set them down on a table.
“Yeah, he’s out like a light. You don’t have to whisper either. Thomas has always been a heavy sleeper.” Lily turned to dim the lantern hanging from a hook on the wall. She took off her worn tennis shoes and settled down on her bench seating bed.
Rachel sat down on the bench that Maggie had used for years as her bed. It was not very comfortable at all, but she wasn’t about to complain. She had questions.
“You’ve been with Maggie since the beginning, when the nukes first hit, right?”
Lily nodded her head. “Yeah, Thomas was just a baby then. I was so scared and desperate to survive. I met Maggie and Walter and they took us in.”
“Walter — he was the older man that helped Maggie get down to the subway tunnels in time, right? She told me a little about him. I wished I could have met him.”
Lily wiped a tear from her eyes. “It was devastating to lose him. It was like losing my own dad all over again.”
“Were your parents killed by the nukes?”
“No, they had died in a car crash a few years prior to the nukes going off. I just wish they had lived long enough to meet Thomas.”
“I’m sure they are watching over you both.”
Rachel looked around at the small, enclosed subway car. It was cramped but tidy. She just didn’t see living there for years and years. “You know that you and Thomas are welcome to come and stay at the dome. There wouldn’t be any problem finding you a living space.”
“I appreciate that. Maggie offered for us to come stay on the command ship. I’m just not ready to make a permanent move yet. If and when that time comes, I think I would prefer to be on the command ship, to be closer to Maggie and the baby. She’s been like my little sister.”
Rachel lay down and pulled the thin blanket over her. “I understand. Lily, I want to thank you for being such a good friend to Maggie all these years.”
Lily waved off her gratitude. “She and Walter saved me and Thomas. I owed them everything. But I would do anything for Maggie because I love her.”
Rachel turned over on her back, wondering how long it would take for her to get settled down enough to fall asleep. She thought about the friends she had back at the dome. She had only a handful that she trusted. All the rest only befriended her because of her dad’s position. No one thought of her like Lily did of Maggie. The whole tribe loved Maggie.
“Rachel, can I ask you something that might be kind of...personal?” Lily asked, looking over at her.
“Sure, go ahead.”
“It’s none of my business but I’ve noticed some tension between you and Lieutenant Estro. I was wondering — is there something going on between the two of you?”
Rachel paused as she tried to think of how to answer that. Her feelings toward Kyle were confusing and went back and forth from liking him to wanting to kick his ass. She didn’t have anyone to talk to about it because all her friends in the dome were halfway in love with him. Her sister was married to Kyle’s brother and she was biased about him. Her mother would probably tell her father whatever she said. This was the perfect opportunity. She turned onto her side and leaned up on her elbow.
“Sometimes he drives me insane, to the point where I want to hurt him. Other times he flirts, makes me laugh, and is charming.”
“The flirting, charming and laughing doesn’t sound so bad,” Lily commented.
“It wouldn’t be if he wasn’t doing that with every girl he comes across.”
“Oh, he’s a player then?”
“That’s how he comes across to me. He never takes anything seriously. I would ignore it except that he also seems to think he has the right to boss me around.”
“How is he bossing you around? I didn’t think you had spent that much time around him.”
“Oh, I’ve had my fill of him for sure. Like today, when he saw that I had come along to help with the supplies, he told me I needed to go back to the dome because it was too dangerous.”
“He is in charge of the security for now. That’s a big responsibility and it sounds like he is worried about your safety.”
Rachel snorted. “Nowhere is truly safe. Not in the dome, in the subway tunnels, or on the command ship. We have to make sure we take precautions no matter where we are. I know people who have been attacked inside the domes and that is supposed to be one of the safest places to be.”
“Attacked how? I haven’t heard anything about that.”
“Well, it’s being kept quiet for now. But I know the two girls who were caught by a small gang of men and they attempted to…”
“Rape them?” Lily sat up.
“They didn’t get that far. But yeah, that’s what they planned. So things like that can happen anywhere. Just like it did to Maggie here.”
“She told you about it?”
Rachel shook her head. “No, I borrowed Maggie’s diary the last time I was here and read some of it. But I gave it back to her because I felt horrible for taking it. She told me to keep it. Oh, shit!” Rachel jumped up from the bed and started opening her makeshift nightstand.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t remember seeing the diary when I unpacked my stuff. I think I dropped it either on the van or somewhere near the subway entrance.”
“We’ll ask Kyle to send someone to look for it. It’s okay.”
“I feel so bad. What if someone else gets it and reads it? It’s Maggie’s personal thoughts and feelings, all the things that she experienced.”
“If someone is rude enough to read someone else’s diary, then they need to be prepared to handle the repercussions. No offense.”
Rachel nodded to indicate that she understood.
Lily smiled at her reassuringly. “We’ll find it, Rachel. Don’t worry.”
Rachel sat back down on the bed, feeling horrible. “I guess there’s nothing else I can do tonight.”
“Get some sleep. The tribe tends to rise early in the mornings.”
“How early?”
Lily cracked a smile at her. “Insanely early.”
“Great, just great.”
*****
Kyle lay back on the cot he had set up inside his two-room tent. He had his penlight on and the diary that Quinn had found earlier in his ha
nd. He knew immediately after opening the diary that it didn’t belong to Rachel, but to her sister Maggie. He should have closed it, but he couldn’t help himself. He was finding out things about Rachel through her sister’s eyes.
The beginning of the diary was dated one year prior to the nuclear disaster. Maggie had come home from running track and found Rachel going through her clothes.
Dear Diary, I lost it today. I found Rach going through my clothes and pulling out stuff she wanted to wear. We’re not even the same size! Come on. She’s like this tiny little cheerleader and I’m much bigger with muscles. I yelled at her and she yelled back that she was trying to take out my ugly stuff so that I would stop embarrassing her at school. I told her that she was the one that was embarrassing. I told her that she was nothing but a spoiled little brat. She broke out into tears and ran to Mom. Yep, she was in the wrong going through my things but I’m the one that got grounded and had to apologize. Mom and Dad said that since I’m older, I should know better than to say hurtful things to her. I swear I wish I had a brother instead sometimes.
Kyle smiled to himself. He was the baby of his family like Rachel was of hers and they both irritated their older siblings. He was finding that they had more in common than he originally thought. He read more passages of similar interactions. Maggie told about her crush on a boy that was popular but that he liked cheerleaders like her sister.
He skimmed much of it, only pausing here and there when he saw Rachel’s name. At one point, Maggie stated that she had to keep her diary with her in her book bag because Rachel was always trying to get her hands on it. Kyle laughed because obviously Rachel had still managed to get her hands on the diary after all these years.
Then he came across the section marked in bold: DESOLATION DAY. This was where Maggie detailed her account of everything that happened the day of the nuclear disaster and the days, months, and years since.
Each and every day Maggie expressed how much she longed for her family. As time went by she mentioned her sister and how much she wished she could have her back no matter what. As Maggie said several times, “I wouldn’t care if she got into all my stuff anymore, she could have it all. I just want my sister here with me so that I would have a family.”