by Meyer, Tim
“Sorry, Chris,” Matty said. “Didn't see you two there.”
“You must be Lilah,” the other man said.
“How—?”
Soren extended his hand to the girl. “Word travels quickly in these parts, my little lady.”
Hesitantly, she shook the stranger's hand as if he had some skin deformity.
“It's okay, Lilah,” Soren said. “I'm not going to... bite.”
“This is Soren,” Matty said. “And that's Chris.”
“Thank you for the introduction, Matthew,” Soren said, smiling, letting go of the girl's soft hand. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Lilah. I hope we see more of each other going forward. If you ever need to talk about anything, anything at all, you can come to me. I'll listen.”
Lilah smiled back, not speaking a single word.
“Oh, well, we gotta go. Lilah's tired. Long day,” Matt said. “Ready?” he asked her.
She nodded.
Soren and Chris watched them shuffle down the hallway and disappear around the corner.
“Smell that?” Soren asked, sniffing the air.
“Tacos?”
“No, you moron.” He gleamed down the hallway, half-expecting someone or something to appear. “Her. Her scent.”
“She smelled, I don't know, pretty normal to me.”
“A wolf can always sniff out another wolf,” Soren said, sticking his nose in the air, breathing deeply.
“I don't know what you're talking about, dude, but—”
“Oh, for Christ's sakes, Christopher. The girl is a fucking rat. She's no more an innocent, helpless whelp than you are.” Cracking his knuckles, a sinister grin stretched across Soren's face. “She has blood on her hands. I can smell that, too.”
“All right, Two-Can Sam. I get the point—”
Soren grabbed Chris by the throat, hoisting him up against the wall. The kid's feet dangled a foot off the ground. He kicked them helplessly. Fear overtook his nerves. He felt his bowels loosen, but his body was able to hold the contents of which it contained.
“Listen to me carefully,” Soren growled. “Not everything is a fucking joke. You want to die? Because that's exactly what's going to happen if you don't do exactly what I say from here on out. We're not safe here. Not one bit. And whatever the girl is—whatever her true intentions are—I can assure you, they're nothing good. So sack up, Christopher. It's time to get fucking serious. Do you understand?”
Feeling his flesh grow warm, Chris nodded.
Soren released his throat, letting the kid drop to his knees.
“Get up,” Soren said, his lips curling. “And get to work. And for once in your pathetic life, start acting like an adult.”
-9-
“Guy's kinda creepy, huh?” Lilah said.
“You have no idea,” Matty replied. “Him and my Dad don't really get along.”
“I can see why. Major Creepster.” She looked around the hallway, investigating every square inch of wall. “Nice place you guys have here.”
“Thanks!” Matty looked around, searching his brain for all the right words to say. Words and sentences his school books never prepared him for. “So... what did you do, before... you know, The Burn happened?”
“The Burn? Is that what you people call it?” she asked, grinning.
“Yeah, I mean. Is there a better name for it?”
She shook her head. “No, I guess The Burn is fitting enough.” She ran her fingers along the wall as she walked. “I was just a normal kid, I guess. Nothing special about me.”
“Really?”
Her eyebrows narrowed. “Yeah, why?”
“I don't know, you look like—I don't know—maybe you were a...”
“Were a what?”
“Popular in school or something. A cheerleader or captain of the girls' volleyball team.”
She laughed. “Cheerleader? Now that's funny.”
“So what is your story then?”
She shrugged. “My story is boring, Matty.”
“You can call me Matt. Only my parents call me Matty.”
“Matt,” she corrected. “Matt, I was a pretty big loser before this Burn of yours happened. I didn't have a lot of friends. My parents pretty much hated me.”
Matty fixed his glasses, pushing them back up his nose. “I thought you said you missed your parents.”
“I did,” she said quickly. “I do. It's just...” She paused, staring at the ceiling. “You ever feel like you've disappointed them? Like everything you do isn't good enough?”
“Only all the time.”
“Yeah, well me, too. Nothing was ever good enough for them. That's part of the reason why I ran away.”
“You ran away?”
“Yeah, that's when those monsters picked me up.” She shrugged. “Guess I learned my lesson. Never run away from home.”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
“Anyway, I'm glad your Dad saved me. I think I'll like it here.”
Matty slowed his pace. “Don't you want to find your parents?”
Lilah's perfectly-plucked eyebrows arched, nearing her hairline. “Yeah, I do. But maybe they can live here. Together. Like one big family.”
Family.
“Yeah, family.”
“Can I ask you something, Matty?”
Matt, he wanted to say. Call me Matt.
“Sure. Anything.”
“Where's your mother?” she asked.
Matty took a deep breath. “We don't know. Couldn't find her after The Burn.”
Lilah nodded. “You think she's alive?”
Shrugging, Matty bit his lip. “Can't say really. I hope so.”
“Do you love your family?”
His eyes narrowed. “Of course. Why wouldn't I?”
Her features fell, her eyes finding the floor. “Just wondering.”
They came to a door at the end of the hall. Matty stopped before it. Lilah followed.
“Well, this is Tina's room. She bunks with a few other women. All good people. You'll like them.”
“Thank you, Matty.”
“You're—”
She leaned in, pecking his cheek. Warmth flooded his face, and he knew she could see how red he instantly became. Embarrassed, Matty turned his head to the side.
“What's the matter?” she asked.
“Nothing. Wasn't expecting that.”
“I'm sorry.”
“No, it's okay.” Jeez, he thought. Don't screw this up!
“Well, goodnight, Matty. Thanks for showing me around.”
Matty opened his mouth, but it felt like an apple had been lodged in his throat.
Lilah opened the door and disappeared into the darkness.
-10-
They turned to see Soren standing in the doorway after the knocking stopped. Each one looked him over, as if he were the Angel of Death coming to give them some very bad news. Soren dropped his hands to his sides, presenting himself as nonthreatening.
“I know we've had our disagreements in the past,” he started, his voice low and somber. “But something is happening downstairs I think you might want to address.”
“And what might that be?” Tina asked sharply.
“People are getting worked up. They want answers about what happened. About Sam's leg and how everything went down. I tried calming them, but they wouldn't listen to me.” Soren sighed. “I think they want you, Sam.”
Sam looked to his friends, then back to Soren. “Are they angry?”
“Some more than others, yes. They don't like being kept in the dark. No pun intended.”
“They don't? Or you don't?”
“I trust you have your reasons for your secrecy, Samuel. But Heaven forbid those secrets were to bring harm to anyone here...” He signaled the Stations of the Cross. “I just thank the Lord you all made it back with your limbs attached.”
“Cut the Jesus shit,” Sam said. “Dammit, Soren. What is it you want from me? I've heard from various sources that you're trying to stage a
n uprising, getting these people to turn against me. Is that what you want? A revolution?”
“Absolutely not. Whoever is filling your head with these lies should be confronted immediately, Samuel. If anything, I'm trying to bring us closer together. We cannot survive without each other. We're like family here.” Soren squinted at Sam, studying his features. “Don't you agree?”
Sam thought about it. He could tell the man was lying through his teeth. He didn't give a shit about banding together, becoming united—a family. No, he didn't care at all. Soren wanted to rip the place apart from the inside, starting with its people, pitting them against each other. That was his plan all along, and Sam was now convinced. If only I saw it sooner.
“Do me a favor, Soren,” Sam said.
“Yes, anything.”
“Tell them I'll be down in fifteen minutes. I'll address all of their concerns.”
“Sam, you can't—” Tina started to say, but stopped when Sam raised his palm.
“Fifteen minutes,” Sam repeated.
Soren nodded. “I will tell them,” he said, turning his back to them.
“And, Soren,” Sam said.
Soren stopped in his tracks, craning his head toward Sam.
“That's all you will tell them. Understand?”
Smiling, Soren nodded, facing away from Sam and his followers.
“He's baiting you, Sam,” Tina said. “You're walking right into a trap.”
Sam nodded. “I know.”
“So why are you intentionally walking into it?”
“Because, if I don't he'll use that against me, too. But if I give the people something, anything, then maybe that will buy us a little more time so I can figure out exactly what's going on out there.”
Sighing, Tina shook her head. “I hope you're right.”
“Me, too.”
Sam felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see his youngest staring at him, her eyes red. She had clearly been crying.
“Dana,” Sam said. “What's going on? Everything okay?”
“Dad, can we talk?”
Sam nodded and turned to Tina and the rest of the group. “You guys mind? I'd like to have a moment with my daughter. Alone.”
“Not at all,” Tina said. “We'll be back in a few.”
She waved the rest of the group toward the door. Once they were out of sight, Sam turned to his daughter, holding her hand in his.
“What's going on, sweetheart?” he asked. “Something wrong?”
“No, nothing's wrong, it's just...”
“Come on, Dana. Talk to me. I'm your father, remember? You can talk to me about anything.”
Dana rubbed her face. “That's just the thing, Dad. You say we're family, but I don't feel like one.”
A look of confusion fell across Sam's face. His jaw slacked. His brow drooped. It felt like someone had stolen the air from his lungs. “Honey, I'm not sure I understand what you're telling me. I know we're surrounded by strangers, but I'm here, Becky's here, your brother's here. You've got family all around you.”
“No, not everyone.”
Sam nodded. “Your mother.”
“You promised you'd go out and find her!” she yelled. “You said you would!”
“And I will, sweetheart,” he said, gripping her hand tightly. “But now's not the best time. Not when there's people out there eating each other, killing each other. It's too dangerous.”
Dana shook her head. “It's always too dangerous or not the right the time! It's always something! You think if we wait, things will get better? It seems the longer we wait the worse things get! When, Dad? When is it going to be the right time to find Mom? You offer to go find some strange girl's family, but not Mom? It's not too dangerous for that!”
“Dana, you don't understand. It's not about your mother.”
“Oh, believe me, Dad, I understand perfectly! You're never going to look for her!”
Sam rubbed his temples. “Sweetie, I can't have this conversation right now. You're not understanding what's at stake here. You don't know all the facts.”
“Just forget it!”
Sam reached out to her, but Dana ran from the office as fast as she could, never looking back.
-11-
“And where might you be running off to, little Miss?” a voice asked from behind her.
Dana turned, spotting Soren leaning against the door leading to his quarters. She surveyed him like an animal in the wild, timid and fearing human interaction. He took one step forward while she took one step away.
“I'm not going to hurt you, Dana.”
“I don't think my Dad would want me talking to you,” she said.
“And why is that?”
She shrugged. “Cause he doesn't like you very much.”
Soren laughed. “No, I suppose he doesn't.”
Laughter came from down the hall. A few members of the group hung outside Sam's room, exchanging jokes. Soren and Dana craned their head towards the commotion.
“Sounds like they're having a good time,” Soren said.
Dana ignored him, concentrating on the laughter echoing down the hallway. She swore she heard her father's laugh among them.
“Did you meet the young lady yet?” Soren asked her.
Snapping out of it, Dana turned her attention to the tall man. She got the sense that she couldn't trust him—something about his smile—but couldn't bring herself to be rude. After all, no one else paid her much attention lately. Certainly not her father. Their conversation earlier had been the most they talked since The Burn happened. He was always too busy going on adventures and doing things for other people, strangers. He treated them more like family than her. Becky spoke very little to her; she was too busy making out with Chris in the broom closets. And as for Matty—well, he was probably too busy sticking his nose in a book, or other things that bored Dana easily. Soren, as strange as he was, was the first person who appeared interested in what she had to say in a very long time.
“Yes,” she replied.
Soren's eyes narrowed. “Something fishy about her, don't you think?”
Dana's shoulders twitched. “I guess. It's hard to tell.”
Soren studied the girl. “What's the matter, Dana?” he asked. “Is there something bothering you?”
She ignored his gaze. “I don't know.”
“You can tell me. Maybe I can help?”
She finally faced him. He looked more trustworthy this time around. Maybe he wasn't as bad as her father made him out to be. Maybe he wasn't “the devil in disguise” after all.
“Dad promised to look for the girl's parents.”
“That sounds like a very admirable thing to do,” Soren said, his lips forming a thin smile. “Why does that make you mad?”
“Who said I'm mad?”
Soren grinned. “I just heard you yelling, that's all.”
Searching her thoughts, Dana exhaled. “It's just, I thought we'd find Mom by now. I mean, he promised. The first week we got here, Dad promised to look for her and Bob.”
“But he hasn't, has he?”
Dana shook her head at the floor.
“I understand. It must be hard to be separated from her. You love your mother, don't you? A lot?”
Dana's eyes filled with tears.
“You miss her? Wish she was here with you?”
Slowly, her head moved up and down.
Soren dropped to one knee. “It's okay. She's still out there.”
“I know.”
“She misses you, too.” Soren offered a comforting smiled. “You know that, right?”
“Yes.”
“You'll see her again. Soon. I promise.”
“Really?”
Winking, Soren said, “Really.”
Dana smiled, wiping away tears from the corners of her eyes.
-12-
“Well, she's clearly pissed,” Tina said, taking a seat next to Sam.
He smiled faintly. “What gave that away?”
“O
h, I don't know. Young, teenage girl unhappy with her father's decisions; have you seen a Lifetime movie in the last decade?”
Staring at the floor, Sam said, “No need to. My life is a Lifetime movie.”
Tina laughed. “I'm sure it's not that bad.”
“You're right, it's worse. It's worse because it's reality. And because she has every right to be mad at me.”
“Well, I wouldn't go that far, Sam. You've done a lot for your family. Hell, you've done a lot for everyone.”
Sam shook his head. “I can't blame Dana for hating me, or any of the kids for that matter. I've made promises that I didn't keep. That I had no intention of keeping.”
“You don't mean that.” Tina took his hands into her own. “You're doing the best you can, Sam. That's all you can do as a father. Now isn't the right time to search for your wife.”
“Ex-wife,” Sam corrected.
Tina snorted, amused. “Okay, ex-wife. Regardless, you can't risk yourself right now. You're all they have. If they were to lose you, Sam, if we were to lose you...”
Sam gripped her hands firmly. “I'm not going anywhere. Even if I did, this place would survive without me. The kids would survive without me. They're smart, strong. They don't need me anymore. Hell, they haven't needed me for a long time now.”
“But they do need you, you stubborn bastard. You may not see it, and they may not see it, but trust me, they do. You love them and they love you. Children will always need their parents, no matter how old they are or how far away they wander.”
“I think they blame me for the divorce; for tearing our family apart.”
Tina huffed. “Your family is not torn apart, Sam,” she said, squeezing his hand. “Believe me, I know what a family torn apart looks like. And yours is far from it.”
He nodded. “Thanks, Tina. I appreciate our little talks.”
She moved close to him, leaning against his shoulder. “You're welcome.”
Shouts and screams came from outside the office. It was the sound of impatience growing amongst the other survivors.
“We better get down there,” Sam said.
“Yeah,” Tina agreed. “Before they tear this place apart.”
-13-
3 MONTHS AGO
“How'd it go?” she asked as Bernhardt slid into the driver's seat.