Tainted Grace (12 page)

“How near were they?” asked Gus, obviously not believing a word that the stranger in black had said.

“Bastards ran off,” replied the short man. “Some of them headed this way. We figured the dead fucks set the fire.”

“Uh-huh,” said Gus.
“Mind lowering your weapons?”

I didn’t understand how he could actually be talking to these men.
It was obvious they were lying. Still, I trusted Gus.

Boggs had slowly backed up to be closer to me.
He now stood at my side. “Zo,” he whispered. I didn’t answer, but rather just listened. “You can’t let them know about you.”

The heat from the burning building was starting to grow uncomfortable.
“Ok,” I said under my breath.

“Not you, and not the baby,” he added.

“Ok.”

He took hold of my hand.
“Stay close to me.”

I squeezed his hand in acknowledgment.

I focused back on Gus.

The man in black signaled his two companions forward.
“Assist any of them that needs help,” he said.

“We need to leave, now,” said the smallest of them.
“We’ll take you to our compound.”

Tension surrounded us.
Gus gestured with his hand to signal us forward. Boggs guided me onward and I could hear Susan and Emilie walking behind us. “Keep your cool girls,” I heard Boggs say under his breath.

“Boggs,” I said quietly as I let go of his hand.
“Help Abbey and Kelsey?”

He nodded.

My bare feet were beginning to sting from the cold, uneven ground.

Gus spoke quietly.
“Follow my lead. Stay together. We have no choice, nowhere else to go.”

One of the men had fallen in behind all of us.
Before long we were marching down the drive. I had a sinking feeling in my gut.

“Nadine!” barked out the short man as we approached the military truck.
“We have company!”

“Send
‘em on back,” said the woman. “You have a knack for picking up stray pups, Miles.”

“Let’s go,” said the short man who we now knew was called Miles.
“I want to be back before breakfast.”

“We need to bring our Suburban,” said Gus.
“It’s parked behind the shed.”

“Do you have keys?” asked Nadine.

“They’re in it,” said Nathan.

“Terry!” barked the woman.
“Drive their vehicle back. Stay close behind us.”

“I think we can drive it fine,” said Gus.
I knew by his tone that he had a reason for staying with the SUV.

“No offense, but we have to be careful about our colony.
We’re not prepared to show you the route there just yet,” said the man named Terry. He was tall and lean with long blonde hair pulled back into a braid that traveled down his back. He was frankly scary looking. “I promise we’ll take good care of your rig.”

Gus nodded once, sharply.
“Much obliged.” I noted a hint of his country accent.

I was shivering.
My t-shirt and underpants weren’t cutting it in the cold. I became very aware all of a sudden that I was more exposed than I ought to be and prayed the green lines on my leg were not showing below the hem of my shirt.

“Let’s get the girls into the truck,” said Nathan.
“It’s too cold out here.” I noticed he was cradling Abbey in his arms, trying to keep her warm. She was dressed in only a thin white nightgown.

We were ushered to the back of the vehicle, where dark green canvas covered the rear opening.
We were told to climb in. It was a tall step up, so Boggs helped boost me. Gus had climbed in first, so was there to receive me. Nathan handed Abbey over to Boggs. Gus assisted Susan, Kelsey, and Emilie before joining us. Nathan joined us last. There were bench seats on both sides of the truck bed. The eight of us sat together on one side, while some of the men who met us at the burning cabin sat across from us. A couple of them had not left the back of the truck, so were new faces. They remained silent, and never stopped watching us. Miles and the woman named Nadine sat in the cab, out of our view. We knew Terry was following in the Suburban when the headlights flashed through the split in the canvas door.

Boggs held one of my hands tightly.

“Adam?” I asked quietly. I knew by using his first name it would alert him in some way.

“Hmm?”

“The picture of you and your parents. It’s gone.” I hadn’t been sure of what to say, and it’s the first thing that came to mind.

“It’s ok, Zoe.
It’s just a picture. It’s not important.”

I sighed.
I wished I felt able to speak freely. I wanted to mention that there had been none of the dead near the cabin. That my mind had never sparked with their signatures. I wanted to cry freely over the loss of our only home. I looked at Boggs, meeting his eyes with my own. I hoped he would look into them and know how scared I was.

“Zoe.”
Hearing my name, I looked at Gus. He was looking back intently. “How’s your head feeling, darlin’?”

“Fine,” I said knowing we understood each other.
“I’ll let you know if my headache comes back.”

He answered with an almost imperceptible nod.

“Is she sick?” asked one of the men sitting across from us.

Boggs looked at the man and took his time before speaking.
“No.”

“Where are you taking us?” asked Susan.

The other man who sat across from us smiled at her. I didn’t like the way he looked at her. I didn’t like it at all.

“You’ll like it there,” he said.

“I liked it at our cabin just fine,” said Susan almost venomously.

“Mind your manners, girl.
The guys in charge don’t like sassing,” said the man.

“My name’s Susan.
Not girl.” Nathan scooted closer to her and wrapped an arm around her possessively.

“And who is in charge?” asked Gus in a calm yet commanding voice.

“You’ll be introduced soon enough,” said the man directly across from me.

I heard a whimper coming from deeper inside the truck.
I looked, my eyes growing used to the shadows. Sitting on top of a folded canvas in a dark corner was a little girl. She was thin and her clothes dirtied. I smiled at her gently.

“Hi,” I said.

She shrunk back as if trying to hide.

“We’ve been calling her Jane,” said one of the men.
“We picked her up a couple of hours before your little house fire attracted us. She won’t talk.”

“Picked her up from where?” asked Gus.

“An old gas station. She was hiding in one of the bathrooms,” answered the man who had spoken to Susan.

“Hi darlin’,” said Gus.
“Do you want to come out and sit by us?”

The little girl shook her head back and forth.
She looked cold.

I looked over at the two men.
“Do you have any blankets I can take to her?”

The more talkative of the two men shook his head no.
“We put her on the canvas hoping it’d help.”

I squeezed Boggs hand then stood.
I walked carefully, holding the hem of my shirt down. Battling the movement of the vehicle, I shuffled across the truck bed until I was near the little girl. I crouched down. “Honey, is it ok if I sit by you to keep warm?”

She looked at me with big brown eyes, obviously scared.
I crept closer.

“I promise I won’t bite.”
I frowned, realizing it had been an incredibly poor choice of words.

It was hard to tell with the poor lighting but I thought she might have hair even redder than Emilie's.
She was maybe six years old. I sat a few feet away from her. The truck bed was cold against my bottom.

“It’s really cold in here,” I whispered.
“I bet it’s warmer on the canvas you’re sitting on.”

She watched me carefully.
I looked back at her. Eventually she scooted over, slowly. I followed her lead and scooted toward her at a snail's pace until I was on the canvas. After several minutes she was leaning against me for warmth. I wrapped an arm around her.

We continued on in silence.
I took comfort from the warmth of little ‘Jane’ against me. Time passed, although it was hard to judge just how much. I had an ominous feeling in the pit of my stomach.

By the time the truck came to a stop, it was full daylight outside. My eyes hurt when the two men across from us opened the canvas on the back. Jane clung to me, obviously scared.

“It’s ok, honey, I’ll stay close,” I whispered to her.

She nodded, but still didn’t speak. I stood. My hip was stiff and achy from the ride. I held a hand out to the child, and she just looked at it.     

“It’s ok,” I said.

She reached out and slid her small hand into mine. I helped pull her up.

“Good,” I whispered.
“Good girl.” I gave her hand just a tiny squeeze and she looked up at me. Her nose and cheeks were splattered with freckles, as well as a few layers of dirt and grime. “Let’s go?” She nodded at me. I thought that was a good sign.

I looked up and saw Boggs watching me and her.
The others were waiting on us. The men in black stepped down from the truck and held the canvas aside for us to exit. Gus and Boggs both followed them and Susan, Emilie, Kelsey, and Abbey went ahead of us. When it was our turn, I walked with the girl to the tail of the truck. She held my hand tightly and stepped closer to my side.

“It’s ok,” I whispered.
“My friend Boggs is going to help you down and I promise he won’t hurt you.”

Little Jane looked up at me, her brown eyes filled with worry.

“I promise,” I whispered.

“It’s ok,” echoed Boggs.
“I promise you’re safe with me and Zoe.”

Jane looked at him, and then slowly reached her free hand out.
Boggs reached both arms up to indicate she should come forward, which she did. He held her by her waist and gently lifted her down. Once on her feet, she immediately turned to watch for me. I was down just as quickly, thankful that Nathan had stayed behind to offer me a hand. Jane hurriedly walked to me and wrapped her arms around me.

“Looks like you have a new friend there, Zoe,” said Gus with a chuckle.

I looked at him and smiled. His cropped hair was beginning to grow and was shining in the sunlight.

Miles and Nadine walked over from the front of the truck.

“Looks like Jane’s taken to you,” said Miles in his unusual crisp accent. “Maybe you can help her get settled. We don’t have a lot of room left. Most of the sleeping quarters are occupied so you’ll need to do some sharing.”

“We’re just grateful for the place to stay,” said Boggs.

“It’s not easy here. You’ll all be expected to do your share,” said Nadine. She didn’t seem like the warmest woman. She was older, perhaps in her late forties, with short spiked graying hair and a permanent scowl. “We’ll assign you to quarters, let you get cleaned up, feed you breakfast, and then assign you duties based on your skills.”

“Fair enough,” said Gus.

“Marc, Karl, can you please show these people to the living quarters?”

Two men who had ridden in back with us straightened their posture in answer.
“Yes ma’am,” they replied in unison.

“Follow us,” said the one who had looked at Susan in the way I hadn’t liked.
He scared me. I wouldn’t want to be alone with him and I sure as heck was going to make sure Susan was never in that position.

Jane stayed close by my side, never letting go of my hand.
I wondered what her name really was. We were standing in a large concrete parking lot. It was surrounded by an expansive chain link fence, topped with loops of barbed wire. There were several large buildings, some metal and some stone. Old tires surrounded most of them. I told myself to ask Boggs or Gus about it later on. We walked to the middle of the compound and one of the men, Marc or Karl, held a heavy metal door open for us. I could tell that Jane didn’t want to go inside, and quite frankly I felt the same way. I took a deep breath, held the little girls hand tightly, and stepped forward into the structure.

Once inside the building we were met with concrete walls and floors in varying shades of utilitarian gray.
It felt cold and unwelcoming. Jane stepped closer to me. I didn’t want to be here. I wanted to be back in our cozy bed in our little cabin in the woods. I fought back tears, refusing to cry here.

“The area straight ahead is the cafeteria,” said one of the men.
“To the left are living quarters. To the right is medical and research, which is off limits unless you’re escorted. No exceptions.”

Three hallways led to the three different areas.

“What is this place?” asked Gus. “It looks civilian.”

“It was originally a small airport.
At some point this building was added as a boy’s reformatory,” said Nadine from behind us. “But time for questions later. There’s a lot to be done here today so we need to get you all checked in. Head to the left and Sasha will get you assigned to beds.”

We did as instructed, heading down the hallway to the left.
It was windowless and lit by fluorescent light bulbs.

“You have electricity,” stated Gus.

“Two windmills and two generators,” said Nadine. “Take the first door on your right. Sasha will take care of you.”

Within a few more yards we were at the door.
It was metal with a small window, the type that has a wire grid built into the glass. I found Boggs’ hand and took it in my own. I looked up at him. He looked back and his eyes calmed me. I glanced behind me to make sure the others were near.

“I’ll announce you,” said Nadine crisply.
She opened the door. “Sasha. We have nine more to process in. Two are children.”

Nadine stepped back, signaling us to enter the room.
The walls were a faded yellow, with bare concrete showing through the worn paint sporadically. There was a long counter made of worn speckled Formica with a metal edge. One man sat behind it.

“Welcome, I’m Sasha,” said the man.
He was young, which surprised me for some reason. “I’ll assign you all new clothes. Looks like you need them. After that I’ll direct you to your bunks. First we need to get your names, ages, and check in any weapons.”

“Why weapons?” asked Gus, obviously not liking that part.

“Policy. Only people on duty outside carry weapons. You can check yours in and out as you please.”

“Fair enough,” said Gus, although from his tone I could tell he was reeling with anger on the inside.
“We only have two. The rest were lost in a fire this morning.” Gus set his sawed off shotgun on the counter.

“Ok, we can start with you,” said Sasha.
“Name?”

“Gus.”

“Last name?”

“
O’Donnel.”

“Age?”

“Thirty nine.”

“Ok, Gus
O’Donnel, your number will be twenty six. Remember it. You’ll use this number for meals, weapon check out, and colony work duties. Next?”

Emilie stepped forward.
“Emmeline.” She paused. “O’Donnel. Twenty-four.”

Gus looked at Emilie questioningly, and then nodded once.
She had used his last name.

“Ok Emmeline
O’Donnel, twenty four, your number is twenty seven. Please remember it. Next?”

“Susan Smith.
Twenty three.” She was assigned the number twenty-eight.

Boggs made sure the chamber of his Kahr was empty, removed the clip, and set it on the counter.
“Adam Boggs. Twenty three. And this is Zoe Kate, twenty.” Boggs hadn’t told them my last name.

“And the girl?” asked Sasha.

“She doesn’t talk,” I said. “They’ve been calling her Jane.”

“And how old?”

I looked down at the girl. “Honey, what are you, about six?”

She nodded.

“Six it is then,” I said to Sasha.

We were assigned numbers twenty nine through thirty one.

Nathan had set Abbey down. I watched him whisper something into her ear. He stepped forward with her and Kelsey. He checked all three of them in, stating his own age as thirty and that of the girls nineteen and nine. I assumed he had lied about Abbey’s age to present her as younger, in hopes of portraying her as a younger child and off limits to boys older than her.

“Ok, time to go shopping,” said Sasha.
Go through the door on the other side of the room. We’ve set it up with clothing, shoes, and linens. You can each find two pants, two shirts, a pair of shoes, and a set of linens. Oh, and don’t forget a coat and four pairs of socks. Use the black marker on the clipboard on the wall to mark the clothes with your number. Sheets go back into the community pool, so leave them unmarked. Log your number on the clipboard, and check the boxes for what all you took please. Go through the last door and you’ll find your bunks. We’re putting you all in two rooms. Sorry it’s all the space we have. Look for the ones marked ’30’ and ’31.’ They’re impossible to miss.”

“Where will our firearms be?” asked Boggs.

“They’re kept in a locker closer to the front exits. There are other weapons there too. Crossbows, firearms, grenades, clubs. Eventually you’ll have access to them all. You’ll get the full tour later.”

Gus sighed heavily.
“After you, Boggs.”

Boggs, Jane, and I walked into the supply room first.
It was neatly arranged with metal shelves throughout, much like a store. Men’s items were on the left and marked by size. Women’s was to the right, mirroring the men’s. Children’s was a similar arrangement against the back wall. Shoes were in the center. Everything looked new. I wondered where it had come from.

Little Jane still held my hand tightly.
I looked down at her. “Jane, let’s look for some things for you first, ok?”

She looked back at me, and nodded her head.
We walked to the back wall together. She picked out a pair of pink sweat pants, a blue skirt, and two t-shirts. She wore shoes already, and shook her head ‘no’ when I asked if she wanted to pick a new pair. At the end of the children’s display was an assortment of teddy bears. She seemed taken by one that was small and fuzzy with a pink bow around its neck. I hoped it was ok to give it to her. She hugged it, letting go of my hand for the first time.

“Ok, honey, I need to go find myself a few things.
Want to come with me?”

She eagerly nodded her head.

We walked together to where Susan and Emilie were sorting through clothes. I was relieved to find a pair of jeans in my size, as well as a pair of sweat pants. I finished off with a t-shirt and a pullover sweatshirt. I found a pair of sturdy Nike’s and added them to my pile. After another few minutes we each had a set of sheets and a pillowcase. I was stuck with a winter jacket that was too big for me, but was grateful for it. We marked items as instructed and logged out on the clipboard.

Boggs helped Jane carry her bundle of things, and Jane helped me carry mine.
We left the supply room and headed down the next hallway. There were rooms on both sides, each labeled with a number above the door. Each door had a large glass pane in the upper half, larger versions of the window in the door to the check-in-room. The rooms weren’t huge, about the size of an average bedroom in the suburbs, and had assortments of bunk beds and dressers arranged inside. Most of them had linens on the beds and a few personal effects, but none were occupied by people at the moment.

“Here it is,” said Emilie.
“Number thirty.”

“Jane, can you open the door?”
Everyone else had full arms.

She nodded, and turned the knob for us.
The door opened inward. She and I stepped in first. There were two bunk beds, the kind that have a full sized mattress on the bottom and twin on top. They faced each other with only a small walkway between them. At each end of the beds, facing the door, were two dressers. The only open corner of the room had two simple wood chairs.

“Can I sleep with you?” Jane asked without warning.
Her first words took me by surprise.

“Of course you can,” I said with a big smile.
“And since you found your voice, can you tell us your name?”

She shook her head ‘no.’

I ruffled her hair. “Ok. But I’ll keep calling you Jane then.”

She nodded her head ‘yes.’
The little girl was growing on me.

Gus and Emilie joined us while Susan, Nathan, Kelsey, and Abbey walked across the hall to the second room.

“Getting settled in?” asked an older woman we had yet to meet. She was blonde, tall, and looked kind. “I’m Maddie,” she said with a warm smile. “Welcome. I heard about the house fire. I thought I’d offer to make up your beds while you all get cleaned up.”

“That’s sweet,” said Emilie.
“Thanks.”

“We didn’t realize there’d be bigger beds, so only grabbed twin linens,” I said.

“No worries, I’ll take care of that. Go ahead and put your clothes in the dressers, and just bring one set with you to the shower rooms. There’s towels and soap already in there. While you’re getting cleaned up I’ll trade in the linens and get things ready for you in here.”