Strays

by Justin Kassab

  “And you would be?” Kade asked.

  “I used to be called Tall-Chief; now I go by Commander Henson,” he replied.

  A clacking sound rose from the pavement, and Kade’s head hung lower with each click. The source rounded the fence, and a pair of heels attached to a long set of legs came into view. The legs extended under a short pencil skirt, which turned into a black blouse and was topped off by a familiar face in librarian glasses. They all belonged to the voice Kade had heard over the Tribesman’s radio—the only person in the world he’d known before the Primal Age that he wasn’t excited to see.

  “Victoria. I am glad to see you well,” Kade said, his eyes not leaving the ground.

  She pulled her sandy-blonde hair into a ponytail. “Spare me the bullshit.”

  Victoria had once been Damian’s fiancée, but he had left her when he went to work on the vaccine that later created the foamers. She had been part of Kade’s original survival group but had left them to join the Tribe, believing they would provide her with better protection. She had been with the Tribesmen during the battle, but Kade had spared her life.

  “It might not be good to see you, but I am glad you’re alive,” Kade replied.

  “Ever the saint,” Victoria said.

  “As enjoyable as I find this banter, you are here for a reason and I have points to discuss with you. Mind telling what you came for?” Henson asked.

  “A truce. DC is being run by the president, and he has over a thousand guardsmen, plus a few hundred civilians. Their soldiers are all vaccinated.”

  “That’s a sizeable force, but it’s unlikely they’d bring the fight to us. Why a truce?”

  “Two of ours have been detained by the guardsmen and will be executed. We’ll be killed on sight if we attempt to negotiate. We need people trained in infiltration,” Kade said.

  Henson turned his attention to Tiny. “I have one special forces soldier who has been itching for something more interesting than supply runs.”

  X let out a long fake laugh. “If he’s so good, then why isn’t he in the ground?”

  Henson smiled in a way that reminded Kade of a casino dealer—authentically wanting the player to win, but knowing there wasn’t a chance of that. “Unlike most of the Tribesmen, this man chose to remain a soldier. He isn’t a pillager, like many of our force became under the old leadership.” He paused, then added as an explanation, “Boy scout.”

  Kade held his hand up quieting his companion. “And what conditions do you have?”

  Victoria handed Kade an envelope. As Kade opened the letter, he realized the Tribe had anticipated a point when Kade would come crawling for help. He immediately wanted to call off the truce, but Mick and Jem’s lives depended on it. Not that he didn’t believe in Tiny, X, or himself, but he couldn’t throw away lives in the vague hope that they would be successful. He needed help, as much as he hated to admit it.

  Henson put his hands on Victoria’s shoulders. “Also, you have to take Victoria with you.”

  “That’s not on the list,” Victoria growled.

  “It’s nonnegotiable. Since you led that raid, the soldiers haven’t wanted you around, and now with the Flu coming back, the civilians no longer welcome you. I can’t lead the Tribe while always keeping an eye on your safety,” Henson said.

  Victoria cast her hand at her former cohort. “They’ll likely lynch me on the way back.”

  “If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead,” Kade said, looking over the list of demands. Victoria’s rust-colored eyes had a fiery hatred that burned more ferociously than hell and all its minions combined, and that fury was fully directed at Kade.

  “I want an assurance,” Victoria demanded, crossing her arms.

  Kade stared her down. “If death should befall your highness on an action that would be considered my—or one of mine’s—fault, consider that a breaking of the truce. If you truly wanted to exterminate us you could. I have no reason to violate a treaty I came asking for.”

  Victoria smiled like a cat who’d just invited a mouse to lunch. He realized that she was playing him somehow, but he couldn’t figure out her endgame. The demands he read over mostly covered setting up territory lines between the two groups to avoid conflicts, as well as trade negotiations between them. The only concession he had to make was returning half of the looted weapons and vehicles to the Tribe. Nowhere between the lines of the document could he see what play Victoria was trying to make.

  Henson nodded. “Very good. If you find the rest of the demands acceptable, we can move forward.”

  * * *

  John knew he couldn’t complain to Grace. He already complained to her too much, and he’d already worn out her patience about being the stray. Kade would listen to him, but he didn’t want to hurt Kade’s feelings by expressing his unhappiness. Damian and Number Five were strangers to him.

  He only had one option left. The door before him was marked with a capital A. Lifting his hand to knock, he hesitated, wondering if he really wanted to go down this path. But before he could make up his mind, the door opened.

  Ashton shot him a glare—which almost made him want to die as much as when Tiny did—and pushed past him.

  “What do you want, Stray?” she said as she started down the hallway.

  John hurried to catch up. “I wondered if I could vent?”

  “Do I look like Kade?” Ashton said, pushing open a door that was unmarked.

  John shook his head and followed her inside.

  “Then why are you still here?” she asked.

  Ashton sat down on one of the three beds that lined the room. John couldn’t tell if she actually wanted him to leave or if she would listen. He knew whatever route he picked would be wrong. Swallowing hard, he made his choice.

  “I just don’t think it’s fair that the new strays have it so easy. They’re just magically accepted as part of the group,” John said, sitting on the bed across the room from her.

  Ashton ran a hand over her forehead and then gave John a sideways look. “That’s what you want to vent about—that you were the only person who came into the group without an invitation and so we label you for it? News flash, Stray, everyone else was brought into the group by another member. You just turned up one day—”

  “But—”

  “Don’t interrupt me. You know why my brother called you Stray for so long?”

  “Because I was unwanted here?”

  “No, you idiot. He had just lost one of his best friends to an ambush that he faulted himself for. On top of that, he had to consider the possibility that X and I were dead. Me, his sister, the only thing he ever cared for. You were named Stray so he could keep an emotional distance.”

  John’s head was swarming with new information. “Kade doesn’t call me Stray anymore.”

  “Use some logic, then.”

  “So he accepts me as one of the group now?”

  “Ding, ding, ding, ten points to idiot-claw,” Ashton said.

  John ground his teeth. Plenty of other people still called him Stray, Ashton among them.

  “You could lay off it,” John said.

  “Stray, I’ll stop calling you Stray when you stop letting it bother you. Now, want to talk about problems? I’m not a babysitter. I’ve never taken care of another human being in my life, and I don’t know the first thing about kids. I actually find kids gross. They smell, and poop, and puke,” Ashton said, glaring at the door.

  “I’m pretty sure these ones are potty trained,” John said.

  “I don’t care. Jem or Drew better get back soon, or I’m going to kill the kids.”

  “By choice or accident?”

  “Both.”

  The door opened and Franklin, Scott, and Meredith came in, each carrying a backpack. Franklin had the cat cradled in his arms.

  “Hey, kids,” Ashton said, her voice climbing to an unnatural pitch. “Hopefully you got some good stuff. This is going to be your room now. Feel free to set it up however you’d like.”<
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  Meredith bounded across the room to a free bed, where she plopped down and sorted through the contents of her pack. All were objects that John recognized from the room filled with random stuff from the former dorm rooms that had no survival purpose.

  Neither Scott nor Franklin moved, but both stared at John. After a few uncomfortable moments, John decided he should attempt interaction.

  “Nice sunglasses. Don’t think you’ll need them in here,” John said to Scott.

  Scott didn’t say a word, only lifted his glasses to reveal his missing eye and scarred face. Ashton put a hand on her face and shook her head at John.

  “Bristle doesn’t like your big dog,” Franklin said, setting the cat on the ground. This was the first time John got a good look at the black spotted cat. It was taller and leaner than a house cat should be and had a black mohawk running down its neck.

  “It isn’t my dog, and that isn’t a cat,” John said.

  “She’s Acinonyx jubatus, or as you would know it, cheetah. King cheetah, to be exact. Her name is Bristle,” Franklin said proudly.

  John shot a look at Ashton, who shrugged.

  “Where did you find a king cheetah?” John asked.

  “The zoo, where else? They aren’t indigenous.”

  The little know-it-all was already getting on John’s nerves, and even though he had a few more questions about the cheetah, he wanted nothing more than to be out of this room.

  “Come on, Stray. Use that brain of yours,” Ashton said, grinning at him.

  Franklin turned toward Ashton as Bristle cautiously explored the room. “Miss Ashton, I am out of cat food for Bristle. I couldn’t find any in the room you let us in.”

  Ashton looked to John for help, but he made sure to avoid her green eyes.

  “I don’t think we have any. We’ve never had a cheetah before. Whenever we run out of dog food, we just feed them people food until we can get some more,” Ashton said, still maintaining that annoying high pitch.

  Franklin shook his head. “I have to carefully regulate her food. She was separated from her mom too young, and if her diet becomes imbalanced at all, she could get sick and die.”

  John decided he would help Ashton by placating Franklin. “Don’t worry. We can place an order with X and he’ll go find it.”

  Ashton’s eyes narrowed, and for a moment John was afraid she would cross the room and beat him up. Apparently X was a subject he should have avoided.

  “X doesn’t need any more grocery runs,” Ashton said.

  John didn’t want to know where the conversation would go from here, and without a word bolted out the door.

  * * *

  Kade, Tiny, and X spent most the drive back arguing over whether or not they should have taken the deal at all, or at least certain parts of the deal. Most of the demands were simple technicalities to keep the two groups out of each other’s way and divide the looting areas. Taking Victoria was by far the most taxing of the points. The next most difficult stemmed from a Feline Flu outbreak within the Tribe’s camp. People were getting scared and were even willing to be vaccinated in an attempt to stop the spread, which only led to people turning into foamers.

  Kade had been required to take on two Tribe civilians and Victoria. Kade’s group would provide the Tribe a safe place to send the refugees.

  When they returned, Kade sent word for John, Grace, and Ashton to meet him in his room. X and Tiny disappeared to prep their gear for the rescue mission.

  Kade pushed open his dorm room door, which was marked with a duct-tape K. He hadn’t seen the inside of it in a few days. Tiny preferred her room, so they tended to sleep there. If they weren’t sleeping, he didn’t have time to be in a room. He sat down on the sleeping bag–covered mattress and let out a long breath.

  John came in, accompanied by Fenris and her pup. Fenris had once belonged to a farmer who had tried to feed Kade to his foamer grandson. The pup had been sired by Fenris and Argos, who had been Jem’s dog before the Primal Age. He had been entrusted to Kade when Jem was called to DC by the National Guard. After saving Kade’s life a number of times, Argos had fallen in the battle with the Tribe.

  The pleasant surprise was that he had bred before Argos died. Now they had Rex. Rex was pitch-black with a single chocolate splotch on the center of his chest. Kade had been able to use the puppy as leverage to keep Jem there as long as he could, but Kade understood his friend had obligations.

  On John’s heels, Grace and Ashton entered the room.

  “What did you call this all-important team meeting for?” Ashton asked as she petted Fenris.

  Kade sat in silence for a few moments as he contemplated his next words.

  “I know you guys are under no obligation to stay here, but I don’t get the sense that any of you are planning to desert any time soon. I know nothing about these newcomers or how long they will stay. Two things I’d like to keep from them until we have a better idea. First is that Damian is responsible for the vaccine. Second is my Huntington’s,” Kade said.

  “You have Huntington’s disease?” John said in shock.

  “How can you have been with us this long and not have known that, Stray?” Ashton toyed with the end of her braided hair.

  Kade ignored his sister. “Yeah. Sorry. I think you met me just when, for the first time in my life, I wasn’t thinking about it constantly.”

  “This isn’t a joke? Like when you guys said my urine was better for me than water before a long run?” John asked.

  “Not a joke, kid. One day I will die an unpleasant death. Until I am no longer able to lead this group, I don’t plan to let it affect me in any way. With all the things that can kill me these days, I’d say it’s pretty much a nonfactor,” Kade said.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll keep your secret,” Grace said.

  “Just be safe while I’m gone,” Kade said.

  Ashton shot him a glare, then went to the door. She paused. “Good luck.” She stormed out, slamming the door.

  “John, can you relay the situation to Damian so I can get packed?” Kade asked.

  “Yes, sir,” John said, and hurried out of the room with the dogs on his heels.

  “You know she’s pissed as shit at you,” Grace said, sitting on his bed.

  Kade walked over to his dresser and loaded his pack. He loved Ashton more than life itself and hated to knowingly cause her pain, but his odds of saving Mick and Jem increased drastically with X in the party.

  “Ashton’s been mad at me most of her life,” Kade said.

  He knew making her the caretaker of the children until Drew and Jem got back wouldn’t sit well with her, but he trusted her to do a good job whether she liked it or not. It wasn’t like he had many options. X and Tiny were out of the question. Damian was focused on his research. He didn’t really know Damian’s assistant, Number Five. Grace hadn’t had a day of rest since they’d arrived in Houghton, and it didn’t look like she’d have a break anytime soon. John was just a kid himself. Ashton was his only option.

  “You’re taking her boyfriend away and making her the town matron. I’d sleep with one eye open if I was you,” Grace said.

  “I already do. You ever going to give John a chance, or just lead the kid on?”

  Grace gave him an uncertain smile. “He’s great. He really is. I even find that nervous stutter of his cute. But if I’m with him because he’s the only option, I’d rather just be alone. I don’t need a boyfriend to feel complete.”

  Kade hadn’t considered things from a stray perspective. His core cohort that started the journey with him had all known one another before the Primal Age. The relationships that had formed between him and Tiny, or Ashton and X, had been fully tested in the Old World and couldn’t be considered settling. Kade sealed his pack.

  “Maybe a better suitor will come along,” Kade said, taking a seat beside her.

  “Can’t you find some completely hopeless movie star that can’t take care of himself and get him to join?”

&
nbsp; “I’ll send a scout mission to Hollywood as soon as we return.”

  Grace reached over and put her hand on Kade’s back. “I wanted to say thanks. I don’t thank you enough for taking me in.”

  Kade got to his feet and sulked to the window. “This is why I don’t tell people I’m dying. They get all sentimental.”

  Grace sprung up and followed him. “I just wish I’d known. That’s the type of thing you tell family, and I’d call you family.”

  There had once been a time when Kade debated whether or not to execute Grace. With her standing beside him in grease-covered overalls, he couldn’t imagine how that had ever been an option. Her trade skills had not only kept them alive, but also comfortable. He figured a little openness with one who gave so much for him couldn’t hurt.

  “The Primal Age has been the first time in my life I’ve felt alive since I was tested for Huntington’s. Huntington’s is one of the least likely things to kill me now. It just felt good to feel like a normal person again. It affects some things—like, I’ll never have kids—but it’s not an anchor around my neck anymore,” Kade said.

  “You just make a lot more sense now than you used to,” Grace said.

  Kade stared out the window. Huntington’s coming up had been like someone stabbing a nearly healed wound.

  “Don’t expect me to write your eulogy,” Grace said.

  “It’ll be a long time till I have to face that end.”

  “You said it is the least likely thing to kill you. I’d rather it be the most likely. I want you around as long as you can stay. You’re the big brother I never had,” Grace said, a quiver overtaking her voice.

  Kade placed a hand on her shoulder. He couldn’t express how much it meant to him that she thought of him that way, since she’d had three older brothers who were all dead now. One died at her hands to save Kade. “You’ve seen me shot, stabbed, burned, and beaten. If you haven’t noticed, I am invincible.”

  “You’re just really good at almost dying.”

  Kade rubbed the cigar burn on his neck. “Like I said, invincible.”