The Survivors Book III: Winter (29 page)

"
I suspect so, yes," Anahera said, nodding.  "My men said that the bodies did show odd burn marks that I presume are the kind left by a taser, but their throats had been cut afterwards.  My men estimate that they were unconscious at the time, lying face down."

"
Wow," I murmured, unsure what to make of the revelation.  My baby sister just didn't seem like the kind that would cut a man's throat in cold blood, even when her life was on the line.  But then, how well did I really know her?  We hadn't seen each other in ten years.  A person can change a lot between the ages of eight and eighteen, particularly in a world as brutal and unforgiving as ours.

I glanced at Michael, and saw the same kind of uncertainty reflected on his face.
 He'd known her longer than I, but only by a few months.  I wasn't sure what to say, and he certainly didn't seem any more confident.  I felt a hand touch my shoulder, and glanced over to find Anahera watching me with sympathy.

"
I told you because I wanted you to know, not because I expect you to do anything about it," she said gently.  "These are unpleasant times, and sometimes we must do unpleasant things in the name of the greater good.  If your friend's story is true, then it is likely those men have done things just as terrible as Lee had.  I would have done the same thing, in her situation."

I let out a long breath that I hadn't realised I'd been holding, and nodded slowly.
 "Yeah.  You're right.  It's just… I don't know how to feel about it."

"
I understand."  She smiled at us, and gently squeezed my shoulder.  "Don't worry, Sandy.  Just take your time to think over it, and your feelings will sort themselves out."

I nodded and gave her a grateful smile.
 Just at that moment, Skylar came rushing back into the room, forestalling any further discussion about her.

"
Hey, guys?" she called, her tone urgent.  "Have any of you seen Priya?"

"
Not since before we left," I answered, shaking my head.

"
Well, we have a slight problem, then."  Skye glanced back over her shoulder, then looked at me.  "She's gone."

"What do you mean, she's gone?" I demanded, leaping up to my feet.  "Where did she go?"

"
I have no idea," Skye said with a shrug.  "I put her to bed with the other kids about an hour ago, but she's not there anymore.  I checked all the bathrooms in the building, but I can't find her anywhere."

I muttered a few choice words beneath my breath, and slammed my fist down on the table in an attempt to vent my distress physically.
 "She must have gone off looking for those kids again.  I'm going to kill her."

"
Calm down, honey," Michael said, in his most soothing voice.  He put his hands on my shoulders, and turned me to face him.  "She took care of herself for ten years before we found her.  She can take care of herself for an hour or two."

"
But what if she doesn't come back?" I asked, my gut twisting itself into all kinds of unpleasant shapes.  "What if she decides to go with them instead of us?"

Michael just smiled, and drew me into a hug.
 "I doubt that she will.  She loves you.  She knows where we are; when she's ready to come home, she will."

"
This is what it feels like to be a parent, Sandy," Anahera said sympathetically.  "Every time your child leaves your sight, you worry that they won't come home.  Usually, they do.  Sometimes, they don't."

"
I don't like this feeling," I admitted.  "I'm torn between losing my marbles and bawling until she comes home, or storming off in search of her.  Someone decide for me."

All of them laughed at that.
 Suddenly, I found myself in the middle of a group hug, with both Anahera and Skylar adding their arms to Michael's.

"
How about we take the first watch?" Michael suggested.  "That way, you can keep an eye out for her.  I know you have trouble sleeping when you're worried."

"
Good plan," I agreed immediately, relieved to have the decision taken away from me for a change.  Although I was usually perfectly comfortable with being in command, there were some moments when I wanted the choice removed so that I couldn't blame myself if it was the wrong decision.  I sighed heavily, and extracted myself from the web of arms.  "We should start shutting up shop.  Who's been fed so far?"

"
Just you lot and the children," Anahera replied.  She went over to stir her cook pot, which still simmered on the stove.  "Dinner's ready, though.  Time to feed the rest of the monsters.  Someone needs to go call them in."

"
Michael and I will go," I volunteered, then I glanced at Skye.  "Can you see if you can get some food down Lily?  I imagine she's probably starving, but her stomach will be a bit sensitive."

Skye nodded her agreement.
 "I'll try her on some broth, and if that doesn't work then I'll figure something else out."

"
Thank you."  I smiled and touched my sister's arm.  "Be gentle, though.  That kid's had a rough time."

"
Of course."  Skye put her hand over mine, and squeezed it gently.  "Don't worry, I'll take good care of her.  Besides, if I don't then I'm pretty sure honey-guy will kick my butt."

"
Actually…"  I paused for a moment, turning her words over in my head.  "Get a bit of that honey off Doc, and mix it in with some warm water.  That'll give her some vital calories, and she's probably more likely to drink it.  It should also help her immune system, and hopefully help with the pain."

"
Okies!"  Skye agreed brightly, then she punched my arm lightly.  It took me a second to realise that she was mimicking Priya's favourite phrase, just to tease me.  I laughed in response, and gave her a playful shove.  Skye took it as a running start, and dashed out of the room giggling like a schoolgirl.

Once she was gone, I glanced at the others and shrugged.
 "Sometimes, I worry about her.  But, you were right, Ana.  She's tougher than I ever gave her credit for."

"
Of course I'm right," she answered dryly.  "I'm Mum, remember?  Mum is always right."

"
Not always," I said.  "But mums do tend to have more life experience than their kids give them credit for."  I sighed heavily, and looked at Michael.  Suddenly aching for a moment of closeness, I reached out and threaded my fingers through his.  "Come on.  Let's go herd the monsters."

Michael just smiled and nodded, apparently sensing my needs the way he so often did.
 I gave him a shy smile in return, then waved goodbye to Anahera and led him out of the kitchen.  Happy with silent companionship, we made our way back to the door we'd come in through.  There, I spotted a group of wet, bedraggled folks standing on the other side of the glass, hugging themselves and bouncing from foot to foot to keep the cold at bay.

"
Why are they standing out there?" I asked, confused.

Suddenly, Michael laughed.
 "Gavin locked the door on the way out, didn't he?"

"
Oh."  I paused for a second, then burst out laughing as well.  "Oh!  Of course!"

I raced over to the door and undid the latch that locked it from the inside.
 The group turned around, and I immediately recognised them as Hemi, Ryan, and a bunch of the other blokes.  As soon as I pulled open the door, they all bundled inside.

"
Aw mate, am I glad to see you," Hemi greeted us; I could almost hear his teeth chattering.  "We knocked and knocked, but no one heard us."

"
Sorry," I apologised, feeling more than a little bit guilty.  "We didn't hear you.  You go on up and talk to your mum; she's got some nice, hot soup to warm you up."

"
Brilliant."  The young man grinned, showing the straight, white teeth that he'd inherited from his mother.  He turned to leave, then suddenly seemed to remember something and turned back to us.  "Oh, Mike.  Your dog's still sitting in the truck.  We tried to get him to come in, but he just wanted to sit there."

"
We'll go get him," Michael replied.  He took the car keys from Hemi's outstretched hand, and tilted his head in my direction.  "What about Sandy's kitten?"

"
She went inside with Maddy, I think."  Hemi shrugged, glancing around at the others.  They all looked just as uncertain.

"
It's all good, I'll find her later."  I smiled and waved them off.  "Go on, before you catch a cold."

"
Speaking of which – put your coat on before you go out there," Hemi told me.  "There's a southerly rolling in, and it started getting cold as soon as the sun went down."

"
Thanks."  I nodded and did just that, unfolding my coat from over my arm and pulling it around my shoulders.  I was still sopping wet, but at least the coat would keep the wind at bay.  By the time I finished doing up the buttons, they were gone and I was alone with Michael again.  I gave him a long, sideways look, followed by a playful grin.  "I thought you hated being called 'Mike'?"

"
I do," he said with a shrug.  "But, you know me.  I'm a fish.  I just go with the flow."

I laughed and nodded.
 He put his arm around me, a gesture that was so simple and natural that it made both of us smile – but the second that the wind hit us, I was really, really glad it was there.

"
Cripes, he wasn't kidding!" I gasped, snuggling in against Michael's side.  What had been a dreary day had turned into a truly miserable night, and the driving rain had a bite to it that chilled me to the core.  "Brrr!  Let's go get everyone in before this gets much worse.  Where'd they park the truck?"

"
They said around the corner, so I'm guessing…" Michael trailed off, peering around in the gloom.  Suddenly, his expression brightened.  "Oh, it's right over there!"

"
Convenient."  I put my arm around his waist so that I could tuck my hand in the pocket of his coat, and guided him off towards the truck.  Alfie saw us coming before either of us noticed him, and let out a happy yelp of greeting.

"
Hey, buddy," Michael greeted his canine friend, juggling the keys with his free hand until he managed to get the door unlocked.  As soon as it was open, Alfie jumped out and bounded around him, barking happily.  Michael laughed, and reached down to ruffle the dog's ears.  "That's a good boy.  You didn't poop in the Hilux, did you?"

Alfie let out a high-pitched yelp that sounded for all the world like a vehement denial.
 We both laughed and looked at one another.

"
Well, that's one monster," I said, tugging my hood down to protect my eyes from the stinging rain.  "Who else are we missing?"

"
It's getting hard to keep track, isn't it?"  Michael paused to think about it, then rattled off a list of names.  "Just the Yousefis, the Merrits, and Richard, I think."

"
They're probably still working on the radio," I surmised.  Michael nodded his agreement, and we set off together.

We found the back door to the radio station still locked, so we ducked through the overgrown courtyard to the street front.
 Sure enough, there was light glowing through the remains of the front window.  As soon as we crossed the threshold, we found ourselves face-to-face with two very alert guards: Elly and Rebecca, both armed, both rational and calm.  As soon as they recognised us, they smiled and lowered their weapons.

"
Time to call it a night?" Elly asked, slipping her gun back into its holster.  "I hope Anahera and Skye do not mind that I was not there to help with dinner.  I worry about leaving Zane alone."

"
I'm sure she understands," I answered.  "Yes, it's time to turn in.  Ana's got some hot soup waiting for you.  Grab the blokes and head inside; we'll be back tomorrow to work on this."

"
Good."  Elly paused, and glanced back over her shoulder.  "I fear that success is coming slowly.  None of them really know what they're doing."

Suddenly, a new voice entered the conversation, from the gloom behind us.
 "Then count yourselves lucky that I'm around."

I almost jumped out of my skin, and had my weapon halfway to the firing position before I recognised the voice.
 "Damn, Gavin.  You scared me half to death."

"
Sorry."  He stepped into the light, though his hood was pulled so far forward that I could barely see his face.  "Old habits, you know?"

"
Better than most."  I smiled, then turned back to introduce him to the others.  "Gavin, this is Elly and Rebecca.  That's Zane just coming out of the office up the back – oh, and there's Richard and Jim.  Guys, this is Gavin.  He's an old friend.  Please don't shoot him."

"
She's kidding, Jazz," Gavin said, glancing back at the shadows behind him.  "No one's shooting anyone."

I followed his line of sight, and could just barely make out a human outline hiding amongst the bushes.
 If I hadn't known where to look, I never would have seen her.