owner, and don’t take too long,” Ryker said.
The group broke up and went into the school. Devin and Halo started in the kitchen, and Taryn went to find Alloy’s office. She did not know why, but she needed answers. Ryker told her he did not think it was a good idea, but she told him it was personal. He nodded and went to the laundry room.
Taryn tried the basement first, winding through countless hallways and dodging group members. It was amazing how fast these people could collect. The school now seemed hollow and even more prison-like.
Taryn whispered, “If I were an evil leader’s office, where would I be? I knew I should have asked the guards.”
As she rounded the last corner, she slammed into a boy carrying crates.
“Sorry,” she said, picking up the boxes.
“It’s fine,” the boy said.
“What’s in the boxes?”
“Extra uniforms,” the boy told her.
Taryn nodded, then the boy went about his business. Just when she was about to give up and turn around, she heard a slight metallic squeak from the end of the hall.
“Tair,” someone said from behind her.
She turned around and saw Ryker walking toward her. He was empty-handed, and his face was tight.
“What are you doing?” Taryn asked.
“Just wanted to make sure you were okay,” Ryker said.
Taryn could tell that wasn’t the real reason, but she shrugged and gave him a little smile. “I heard a squeak from down there,” she said, pointing to the end wall.
Ryker said nothing. He walked in front of Taryn down the hall. At the end of the hall was just that, the end. No turns, no doors, just a solid metal wall.
Taryn heard another squeak, and this time Ryker looked at her, acknowledging that he had heard it too. “There’s nothing here,” Ryker whispered.
“Really? I hadn’t noticed,” Taryn whispered back with playful sarcasm.
“Ha, you’re funny,” Ryker said, lightly punching her arm.
Taryn was glad to see that he was at least somewhat relaxed. She always enjoyed hearing him laugh and seeing him smile, but she knew it would only last until they got back upstairs.
“Yeah, I know, I’m hilarious,” Taryn whispered. “I don’t understand. There's nothing here, but the noise is clearly coming from here.” She started knocking on the wall in random spots. Ryker followed her lead and did the same on the side walls. After a few solid knocks, Ryker hit a hollow spot. “Hey, listen.” He continued to knock.
“It’s a solid panel. How can it be opened?” Taryn asked.
“Look for screws or buttons,” Ryker whispered, running his hands along the wall.
“You are such a nerd,” Taryn said, doing the same.
“I know, it’s the end of the world,” Ryker said.
Taryn’s hand barely hit the screw head before the metal wall panel lifted into the air. Through the door was a typical work office.
“What the...” Ryker said.
“Alloy was also a nerd,” Taryn said staring at the door.
“I guess this is it,” Ryker said. “Let’s check it out.”
They walked through the door into the office. In the center was a rustic wooden desk covered in papers and framed pictures. The walls were lined with full bookcases, the floor was pure black carpet, and there was a fake window plastered to the back wall.
“So what exactly are we looking for?” Ryker asked.
“I don’t know.” Taryn walked around the desk looking at the pictures. She nearly passed out.
Ryker must have read her face, because he hurried around the desk. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she said, her voice cracking.
Right in the center of the desk was a picture of a smiling brown-haired woman. Looking at her face brought back way too many memories for Taryn. She stumbled and sat in the desk chair. Her eyes filled with tears as she reached for the picture.
“Do you know her?” Ryker asked. “What’s wrong?”
“This is my mother,” Taryn said choking back a sob.
“Why does Alloy have a picture of your mother on his desk?” Ryker asked.
Taryn took one look at his face and realized he was trying to put the pieces together. Taryn followed his eyes as he scanned the other pictures on the desk. One showed Alloy, Taryn’s mom, and a little girl about four years old, sitting on the school steps. Another showed the same little girl, maybe eight years old, riding a bike, her brown hair blowing in the wind and her green eyes glowing bright with her smile.
Ryker picked up a picture of a ten-year-old girl wearing a white T-shirt under blue overalls and holding up a welding mask. He dropped the picture.
“No, no, no,” he stammered. “Alloy was your...”
“Father,” Taryn began to sob. “Alloy was my dad and this is my mom, Brittny.”
Ryker stumbled. He grabbed the edge of the desk for support. “No. You’re lying. This isn’t funny.”
“Ryker, I’m not lying,” Taryn said, standing back up. “This is one of the times I wish I was, though.” Taryn put the picture of her mother down on the desk. She could not bring herself to look at Ryker. This was the moment she knew would kill her. What made it worse was the fact that Ryker was dealing with Laiken’s death. She had hoped to tell them both when things settled down. Now it was all out on the table at the worst possible time.
“Why?” Ryker asked. “Why did I not know about this?”
“Because I didn’t tell you.”
“Why?” He asked again, this time looking her right in the eyes.
“I didn’t want you to know,” Taryn said.
Ryker started pacing the room. He would not meet her eyes, and she could tell he was trying to process the information. “What happened?” He finally asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Last time I checked, parents don’t torture their children,” he said, waving his hands.
“Do we really have to do this now?” Taryn asked.
“Well, there isn’t going to be a better time.”
“I wanted to wait and tell both of you,” Taryn said.
“Both of us?” Ryker appeared confused. “Oh, you mean Laiken and me. Well guess what; he’s dead!” The moment after he said it, his face softened.
“I’ll tell you everything later, I promise,” Taryn said. “Right now we have to focus on collecting.”
“Fine, I’m going to see if anyone needs help,” Ryker turned and left.
Taryn could tell he was angry and unsettled. She could not blame him for being angry. She hoped they would be able to work things out. The way he yelled that last sentence kept replaying in her brain. He said it like it was her fault. She knew he was right; it was her fault, but she never imagined he would blame her. She wiped her face and took a drawer out of the desk. After dumping the contents on the ground, she put all the photos in it. She scanned the room for anything useful. She picked out a few books on war tactics and weapons.
Just as she was about to walk out the door, she heard the squeak again. She had completely forgotten about it. She noticed a small metal hamster moving in a wheel on one of the bookshelves. Each time the robotic creature hit a certain part of the wheel, the wheel squeaked. For some reason Taryn smiled. She had no idea why, but at that moment the little hamster, endlessly running on the wheel, gave her hope.
She grabbed the metal contraption and carefully placed it in her drawer. She walked to the door and turned around for one last look. Then she took her drawer back upstairs to meet everyone else.
BACK UP AT THE SCHOOL doors, everyone was waiting with arms full. People had food, weapons, blankets, clothes, pans, plates, and glasses. Others had mattresses, tables, chairs, crates, and books. A few people gathered tools and building supplies. Taryn felt guilty that all she had was a drawer, but no one seemed to take any notice.
“You guys can start heading back,” Taryn said. “Are we going to need to make another trip?”
&nbs
p; Halo said, “Yeah, I think we are. There's still so much stuff in there.”
“Alright. On the next trip tell anyone who wants books to go to the basement and find the office. The door will be open, and they can pick out anything they want,” Taryn said.
The crowd made one more trip, and the school was empty. “I think we should give it a couple days. Let everyone get settled, then we can make the bomb plan,” Taryn said to Ryker, Halo, and Devin.
“Sounds good,” Halo said.
“Where are we putting Alloy’s body?” Devin asked.
“Sitting in a chair in the middle of the gym floor,” Ryker said.
“We might as well do that now,” Halo said.
Halo and Ryker grabbed the body while Taryn set up a chair. The boys slumped him into it and they all left.
Back at the safe house, people were sorting and organizing everything. It was like a beehive, people running around putting things here and there. Everyone looked happy, and that was all that mattered to Taryn.
THEY HAD BURIED LAIKEN AFTER everyone had gotten back to a normal routine at the safe house.
Taryn and Ryker stood behind the safe house in the cold wind. There was a fresh mound of dirt next to Remmy’s grave. Ryker had suggested they bury Laiken next to Remmy because they were both casualties of Alloy. Ryker told Taryn he had forgiven Remmy, deciding Remmy really had not had a choice.
Taryn had prepared herself for her big explanation. She told herself she was not going to break down, but she knew it would happen anyway. She gave a sigh, put her hands in the front pocket of her black hoodie, and began her story. “My mom and Alloy met in high school. She was pretty and smart but didn’t quite fit in. Alloy was kind of like the
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