The Survivors Book III: Winter (8 page)

"
Yeah," Skye agreed as we unfolded the blankets, and shook them out the door to get the worst of the soot off them.  "We've retrieved as much bedding as we can, but it's still going to be a bit uncomfortable for everyone.  Better safe than sorry, though."

"
Well, we're going to need to have some people on night watch, anyway," I answered, glancing around the little building for inspiration.  "I'm thinking two watching upstairs, two downstairs.  We don't want those things sneaking up on us while we're sleeping."

"
Now, that is an awful thought," Elly commented quietly; I glanced at her just in time to see her shudder.  "It frightens me to think how close they came to taking my children from me."

"
I won't let them," I said firmly.  "I'll protect your kids to the death, if I have to.  I'll protect all of the kids, one way or another."

"
Well, aren't you Little Miss Determined now?" Skye teased impishly, and gave me a nudge in the side.  I stuck my tongue out at her and gave her a shove back.

"
Someone's got to be."  I folded the blanket I'd been shaking over my arm, and turned to look her in the eye.  "We may be all that's left of humanity in this country right now.  Even if we aren't, we have a duty to try to protect ourselves, and to grow this group so that the next generation can have a decent chance.  We owe them that much, don't we?"

"
True."  Skye sighed heavily, the humour draining out of her face.  "I barely remember what it was like before the plague came.  I just remember everything being… so clean.  And smiling people everywhere.  It would be nice to have that again."  Suddenly, she glanced up and gave me a cheeky wink.  "I also miss chocolate.  Chocolate was awesome."

All of us laughed at that.

By the time full darkness fell, everyone had returned safely from whatever mission they'd been about.
 The last people to return were Michael and his crew, who had taken responsibility for keeping the rest of us safe.  Not really a huge surprise.

I won't lie and pretend that I was all dignified or coy about seeing him again.
 The second he came through the door, I threw myself into his arms and smothered him in kisses, much to the amusement of everyone around us.  And you know what?  I didn't care.  I didn't care at all.  After the kind of day that we'd had, we had both earned a moment of weakness.

Once we had finished reuniting, we closed, locked, and barricaded the front door with the heaviest things we could find, then we filtered upstairs into the crowded loft.

"Elly and I will take care of dinner," Skye volunteered, heading off to the kitchen.  That left the rest of us standing awkwardly in a small living room, crammed with way more people than it was ever meant to hold.

"
You know, I really hope the floor doesn't collapse or something," I joked lightly, nudging Michael in the side.

He smiled faintly in response to my joke, but his expression stayed serious.
 "We should probably do something about getting people bathed, though.  It smells like a frat house in here."

"
Good point."  I nodded and cleared my throat loudly, putting an end to the quiet conversations taking place around the room.  One by one, they all turned and looked at me expectantly.  "All right, everyone.  Michael says you stink.  Bathroom's through that door there, on the left.  I'd like the kids to go first, since they have to go to bed earlier than the rest of us – Doc, Zain, can you please take care that?"  I glanced at them.  They both nodded, and stood to round up their respective progeny.  "Thanks, guys.  As for the rest of us… well, there isn't going to be enough hot water for everyone to have a warm shower.  Sorry.  No fist-fights, okay?"

There were some groans from the younger men, but there was really nothing that any of us could do to alleviate the situation so there were few real complaints.
 A cold shower was better than no shower, and most of us were used to going without modern conveniences when we had to.  The conversations resumed, but with so many people crammed into a single room it was hard to follow any of them.  Michael was clearly in one of his dark moods, and that always bothered me.

Ever since the death of his niece, there were times when he went into a strange, black place that was so out of keeping with his personality that it made me worry.
 I hated to watch him brood, so I gently reached out and touched his arm.  When he looked at me quizzically, I tilted my head towards the door, silently telling him I wanted to talk to him without alerting the others that anything was amiss.

He followed me out onto the landing without a word, and closed the door softly behind him.
 Before I could say anything, he grabbed me and drew me into a fierce hug.  The gesture was unexpected and took me by surprise, but not for long.  Michael was not one to stay silent; he was a deeply expressive man, who tended to take things to extremes.  Whether he was laughing or crying, he never hid himself from me.

"
Hey, it's okay," I whispered, wrapping my arms around his broad shoulders.  "I'm fine.  Everything is fine.  You made it in time."

Michael drew back and looked down at me, then let out a low, deep sigh.
 "I know – but I almost didn't.  I've been kicking myself that I didn't notice when you fell behind.  I could have lost you, and never known what happened."

"
Better to never know than watch me get torn apart, right?" I answered with my usual dry sarcasm, but the look that he gave me immediately made me regret my choice of words.  It was a look of total horror.  It took a moment for me to put together what I'd said with what he had seen when Sophie died.  "Oh my God, I didn't mean it like that!  I'm sorry, honey.  I-I didn't mean--"

"
It's okay," he answered, cutting me off mid-stammer.  "I know, it was supposed to be a joke.  I'm just… having trouble with this whole situation.  I feel so helpless."

"
You saved my life once again," I reassured him, gently reaching up to grab his shoulders.  "Again and again, you're there for me.  Honey, you're the strongest man I know.  Please don't doubt yourself like this, because I don't.  I have absolute confidence in you.  I trust you.  You know better than anyone how hard it is for me to say that."

He nodded, his expression softening.
 "Yeah, I do.  It means so much to me to hear you say that.   But, still… it's hard to feel in control when you have no idea where the enemy is going to strike from next."

"
I know what you mean."  I sighed heavily, turning away to stare out the little window at the dark sky, and the ashen ruins of our former home.  "I haven't felt like I'm truly in control of my own destiny in a long time.  Hopefully, this voyage south will change that.  No more waiting."

"
It's going to be a hard trip," he said quietly.  I felt his warm body come up behind me, and his arms slid around my waist.  "For everyone, but especially for the little ones.  Do we even know where we're going?"

"
No, not really."  I shrugged and leaned back against him, drawing comfort from his strength.  "I figure that we head for Wellington, and see where the winds take us.  We'll stop by that corn field along the way and stock up on food.  That'll keep us going for a while."

"
I've never been to Wellington," he said, resting his chin comfortably on my shoulder.  I shot him a glance, and saw his dark eyes were distant, focused on nothing.

"
I have – well, I've been in the area."  I nuzzled his cheek and then closed my eyes to think.  "It's been a long time.  If we stick to the areas that used to be farmland, then we should have an easier time foraging along the road."

"
We could find boats, and take the river south," Michael suggested.

I opened my eyes and gave him a curious look, then shrugged.
 "Maybe.  They can't follow our tracks if we're on the river, but the river would only take us part of the way and then we'd be stuck scavenging for trucks in an unfamiliar location.  We're heading through Arapuni, so we can check while we're there.  I don't want to leave without offering Rebecca and Jim the chance to join us."

"
It can't hurt to ask."  Michael smiled at me, and gave me a gentle hug.  "You know, I can hardly believe how much you've changed since we met."

"
For the better, I hope?"  I laughed and nudged him in the side.

He chuckled back and nodded.
 "Of course.  I fell in love with you just the way you were, but this person that you're becoming… I love her, too.  You're metamorphosing before my very eyes, from someone that was impressive to begin with, into someone truly amazing.  Words can't express how glad I am that we met."

"
And to think, if it hadn't been for these undead, then we'd never have found each other."   I grinned at him, turning within the circle of his arms so that I could drape my own across his shoulders again.  "Think we should thank them?"

"
Hm, let me think about that."  He tilted his head, pretending to think about it, then grinned at me.  "Nah, I think we should just keep shooting them."

"
Good plan," I agreed, leaning up to plant a kiss on his lips.  When we parted, I glanced over his shoulder at the room beyond.  "We should probably assign people to the night watch.  I was saying to Skye that I think we should have two groups of two, one downstairs watching the door, one upstairs keeping an eye on the sleepers, just in case."

"
Sounds good," he agreed amiably.  "First shift from bedtime until just after midnight, then second shift from then until sunrise?"

"
Yeah."  I nodded my agreement.  "I think we should try and divide it up between the newcomers and the old – both so they can get to know one another, and so we can keep an eye on them."

"
I'll take care of it."  Michael smiled down at me, then leaned down and planted a kiss against my forehead.   "You worry about organising the journey."

"
I don't mind taking a watch," I started to protest, but he just shook his head.

"
You're one of the walking wounded today, sweetheart," he rumbled in that soft, deep voice of his.  "I want you to rest.  I'll be watching over you, so you know you'll be safe."

"
Sometimes I think you're way too nice to me."  I sighed, lifting a hand to trace the contours of his cheek.

"
Do you want me to stop being nice to you?" he asked, raising one eyebrow inquisitively.

"
Nah."  I laughed, then leaned up and planted another quick kiss against his lips.  "To be honest, I've almost forgotten what my life was like before I had you in it.  Which is a good thing, because my life was pretty awful before I met you."

"
I understand."  He drew me back into a hug, and wrapped his arms around me.  "Everything happened so quickly, but it feels so right.  I've never felt as sure about anything as I feel certain that you and I are meant to be together.  I only wish that you'd had a chance to meet Sophie."

"
Me too," I murmured, snuggling in against his warmth.  "You're just the kind of guy to take home to meet the parents, if you remember that old saying.  I think my folks would have loved having you for a son-in-law."

"
My dad would have liked you, but I have this sneaking suspicion that you and my mother would have fought like cats."  He pulled back and looked down at me, a playful twinkle in his eyes.  "I suppose that would have been funny to watch, though.  From very, very far away."

"
Hey!"  I laughed and gave him a playful shove.  "You never know, we might have gotten on so well that we'd spend all our time plotting ways to make your life miserable."

Michael groaned.
 "Don't even joke about that.  That's so not funny."

"
Yes, it is."  I gave him an impish grin, and wriggled my way free of his grip.  "Anyway, we should get back to work.  You take care of the defences for the night, and I'll sort out our travel plans."

"
Yes, ma'am!"  He gave me a mock salute, then moved past me and headed back into the living room where the others were waiting.

I followed a few paces behind him, but while he started talking to the group, I headed into the kitchen.
 There, I found Skye and Elly hard at work, preparing something that remotely resembled food.  Most of our fresh food had been destroyed by the fire, but the years had taught all of us how to be resourceful.

"
Heyas," Skye greeted when she noticed me.  "Dinner's still a wee while away yet.  We'll let you know when it's ready."

"
Oh, I'm not here about that."  I moved the rest of the way inside, and closed the sliding door that separated the kitchen and living room, to cut off the noise the men were making.  "I needed to talk to you, actually.  Both of you."

"
Oh?"  Skye shot me a look, her brows raised curiously.  "What's up, sis?"

"
A couple of things, actually.  One at a time, though."  I paused for a moment to gather my thoughts, glancing at the stack of supplies wedged into the corner of the room.  "You know we're going south as soon as possible.  I want you guys to take care of provisioning.  You have my permission to rope in anyone else you need, but I need someone who's in charge to keep things from getting messy.  If you're cool with it, I'd like to put you in charge, and have Elly serve as your second-in-command."