Frank grinned and laid out a king, then slowly revealed a queen. "Take that!"
"Dang, man! I smell a cheater."
"You mean you smell a winner? Don't mind if I do," he said happily and grabbed all the trinkets and string from the center. I looked at Calvin questionably and he explained that all they had were little objects to bet for. Whoever won the hand won whatever had been anted in the pot.
We played a few hands before they started yawning. Frank said he needed a nap, so we left him there to do just that. I went back into the main area to see Merrick pacing. His mind was filled with scenarios of Sherry not coming home. I sighed and went to his side. "She's fine."
"Every time she goes out without me, something happens," he explained loudly. "She's a magnet for trouble, always has been. I should never have let her go."
"It's only…" the quick look at the clock showed it was almost six at night, "oh."
"Yeah, oh. I know Cain's with her, but…"
I looked over to see Lillian doing basically the same thing as Merrick on the other side of the bunker. Daniel was sitting on the floor, his head leaned back against it as he watched her every move with interest. I turned back to Merrick.
I focused on the fish bowl I was in. The answers to my internal fight had to be here somewhere, hidden in silver linings and subliminal messages that people received in times like this. I just needed to pay attention.
I watched Merrick pace. I watched Lillian twist her hair over and over. I watched Daniel as he pined over the girl he couldn't have and didn't really understand why. But all of them would do anything for the one they loved.
I just needed to figure out what was worth it.
Breaking her heart when I left for the one place I'd waited my entire existence to go to, or leaving her to her anger and hoping it was one day replaced with friendship.
Could I just be friends with her? That would have to be answered in time. I guess the real question was, would she always be so beautiful when she looked at me like she wanted to devour me on the spot?
A Need So Great
Chapter 15
Daniel
It was the worst kind of torture to watch Lillian pine over her human male. She was making a thorough job of it, too. I felt a grimace touch my face at remembering how he'd gotten her to marry him. The human tradition was apparently one of importance.
The look on her face as he said those words to her… I turned my face as if doing so would wipe it all from my mind. I turned back and saw that she'd stopped and was leaning on the crates as if exhausted.
We had all eaten long ago, except for Lillian who refused, but Lillian and I both had sat there and waited for something. She was waiting for Cain to return, I was waiting for him to not. So harsh and evil, that thinking, but there it was. She couldn't be mine if he was here. He was the line in between us so the natural process would be to snub out the line with my boot.
That's what I wanted to do.
But right then, as I looked at Lillian's hips and lower back as her shirt rode up, I saw an opportunity to offer her some authoritive guidance. She was rail thin these days, as were a lot of the humans, but from this angle, Lillian looked positively ghostly. And since she seemed to enjoy Cain's efforts to boss her around…
I got up and took cat-like steps to her. She was in a daze and I didn't want to startle her. She saw me then and the reluctant smile that touched her full lips couldn't be coincidence. She had to feel something for me. Had to.
"You need to eat something," I told her gruffly. I realized that I hadn't spoken all day. "You haven't eaten all day."
She smiled in a distracted way. "How do you know that I haven't?"
"I've been watching you," I answered matter-of-factly.
"I know," she whispered and finally looked at me. "You shouldn't."
"I can't seem to stop."
"I used you," she said and straightened her back. "Do you understand that? I knew you'd help me because you had a crush on me."
"I'm assuming that crush means that I have feelings for you?" She didn't answer, but I hadn't expected her to. "Then yes, I knew that and wanted to help you anyway."
"Why?" she said in true confusion as I stepped even closer. I was now in her personal space and could tell by the slight hitching of her breath that she realized that fact, too.
"I thought it was obvious," I said low, my chest rumbling. "Lillian…"
"Don't," she whispered and shook her head. "Ok, let's just get this out in the open. It'll take my mind off Cain anyway." She crossed her arms and let me have it. "I do feel something for you. What? I don't know. It feels like there's some connection there, but it's not a crush for me, or love, or anything along those lines. I just feel…like you should be here. Not for me, not for us, just…be here."
"Like I might serve a purpose?"
She nodded. "Exactly."
"A purpose to your human cause?"
She shrugged. "I have no idea. I can't imagine that that settles well with you. Just helping us and getting nothing in return."
I chuckled without human humor. "Oh, Lillian." I broke her unspoken boundary and touched her cheek lightly. "Just being here with you is worth anything and everything that has or could happen to me. I'll take what I can get."
"Then, please don't touch me anymore," she asked, but didn't swat me away. I took my hand back and she continued. "Friends, right?"
She held out a congenial hand to shake on it. Like it was a binding contract between us. "I can't shake on it."
"Why not?" she asked, but her eyes told me she already knew.
"Because I can't just be friends with you. Even if it's just one sided, even if nothing ever comes of the connection between us," I leaned and spoke into her ear, "you'll always belong to me in my mind."
"Daniel, you can't." She looked up, her face so close to mine. I was assaulted with the memory of what she tasted like. "Why torture yourself? Why can't we just be friends and you accept that I'm with Cain?"
"What if Thomas Edison had listened to all those people tell him it was impossible to make a light bulb? We'd be standing here in the dark."
"Ok, fine, yes, but this is different."
"You say tomato, I say potato." She laughed and covered her lips. "What?"
"Nothing," she said and laughed. "Ok, potato, tomato. I get it. Still, this girl is stuck with potato soup. No tomato soup allowed, all right? Just friends."
I smiled. I refused to answer her. I didn't want to lie and I didn't want to make her worry. Instead I just scooped her some rice into a bowl and handed it over. Our fingers touched, as was my plan, and she jolted her eyes to mine.
I knew how the phrase was supposed to go. Tomato, tomato. But in this case, we were so opposite that changing it seemed appropriate. Cain was a potato, I was a tomato, and Lillian was some version of the two.
I needed to get her across the tomato line. Pronto.
Hot Wired
Chapter 16
Sherry
I heard the screeching and swung around to see the van sliding to a skid. Cain had stopped and was closer to them. I was rooted to my spot with fear as men jumped out of the back and pointed guns at the warehouse. They wasted no time, not wondering if the people there were innocent or not. They just opened fire. I saw the lady who had told us to look at the camera. She was the first to go down and my stomach turned as I watched her fall.
Cain was yelling and waving at the men furiously, but they didn't listen. They ran inside the warehouse and I heard more shots fired before they ran back out with stacked boxes in their arms. They were there to steal the food and had taken out anyone there that may have tried to stop them.
For a split second I wondered why the Lighters weren't there. I figured they would be to protect their precious system and make sure it all went as planned. This seemed more like a government operation instead.
The men jumped into the van and one of them saw Cain as he ran to stop them. He must've thought he wanted a ride
instead. Maybe thought a big guy like Cain would help their outfit as they played Robin Hood and stole food. The last thing I saw was Cain trying to fight him off as one of them grabbed Cain's arm and dragged him inside the back doors even as they took off. Then Cain was shoved inside and the doors slammed as they ran passed me.
Cain looked out the back window. I saw him beating on it and pointing to me, but they never stopped. "Wait! Stop!" I yelled, but they never even slowed down.
I gulped when the dust in the air was the only thing left of them. I stood there, empty handed and couldn't think of a single thing to do.
I turned and searched for someone. Anyone. I was alone in the parking lot. I ran back to the Jeep and yanked the door open. No keys. Cain still had them in his pocket. I squeezed my eyes shut tight.
I tried to think of what to do. I had to get out of there. If only I had keys, I could follow Cain. I peeked into the window of the car next to me. No keys. I slid down to the ground along the car side and tried to think of anything that didn't involve freaking out. Glancing up I saw a few thin wires sticking out of the steering wheel.
I didn't know how to hot wire a car, but I was about to try.
I pulled them out of the harness under the steering wheel and tried to make sense of the chaos of colors; red one and white ones and green. I reached under the seat for Merrick's knife that I knew he left there. I used it to slice through the wires and hoped that I could figure it out.
I sat there for at least a half hour, trying all the wires in combinations. I tapped them together, I rubbed them together, I twisted them together. I tried everything and nothing made a spark or noise. I thought back to every movie I'd ever watched where they'd done it so effortlessly and knew it was all a lie.
Hollywood had tricked me into thinking this was something that was actually doable. I fumed, feeling my face heat with anger. I would never make it back to the warehouse if I didn't get this stupid car to run.
There had been a few people to come and go. Some of them came out with boxes of food, others ran screaming back their cars. I tried to ignore them. They sure were ignoring me.
I lay my head down on the steering wheel and closed my eyes. When I opened them, two wires were dangling down further than the rest; a maroonish red one and a dirty white one. I took them in my hands and closed my eyes as I sent up my final prayer that this work. I tapped them together a couple of times and finally…got a spark. So I touched them faster and harder and was shocked to the point of squealing when the Jeep cranked to life.
I slapped the steering wheel in triumph and hopped into the seat. I threw it into reverse and looked back to make sure nothing was in my way…but the one little box of food there took my attention. I sighed. There was no way I could take that puny box home and see the look of despair on everyone faces as they realized it was hopeless. It was going to be hard enough to tell them what had happened to Cain.
Cain.
I laid my head against the steering wheel once again. Oh, God, please… Where did they take him? Maybe he made them stop and throw him out somewhere. I lifted my head as the realization hit me. Of course he did! They ran so no one would catch them, but I was sure they tossed him on his butt somewhere. Probably right down the road and he was booking it back to get to me. I smiled at the thought, but stopped. I looked toward the warehouse. I had to see for myself. I had to see that in there was some food left to grab. And I needed to hurry. I was sure that Enforcers would be there soon.
I backed the Jeep up, pulled it up to the warehouse entrance and put it in park. Leaving it running, because I didn't even know how to turn it off anyway, I got out and rounded the hood. The leg of the lady who had greeted us was sticking out of the large doorway.
I turned, feeling the gag in my throat. I didn't know if I could do this. But then I wondered if someone could be alive. That got me going and I found myself bolting through the door passed the lady and into the warehouse.
If one bloody body was enough to send me reeling, a whole warehouse of them was enough to make me scream. I looked. I didn't want to, but I looked. If there was someone alive, I needed to help them. I couldn't imagine just lying there, waiting for death…
I shook the thought away and made my way down the line. Every person there was lying still. "Hello?" I called hesitantly. My eyes continued to scan the people and found no signs of life. I felt like crying. I felt like bawling my eyes out.
The Lighters hadn't done this to us. We did this to us. Humans killed other humans for food.
I picked up the first box I found and looked around for food left behind by the murderers. They had taken all the breads and bags of flour, all the cereals and easy foods. I was beginning to feel the sting of despair once again until I came upon the last table. It was empty, too, and that made me think. There had to be boxes of food somewhere. They only brought out a little at a time to give the people what they needed, but there had to be a stash.
I opened the only door that I could see and gawked at my luck and the mountains of boxes. I knew I needed to hurry so I put my awe aside and opened the first box I found. Cans of fruit were inside. I almost burst into tears right there.
It would only be so long until all the can foods were gone from the world, too. Plants didn't grow so well anymore so there wouldn't be anything left to can. Same with canned tuna and chicken. Soon, they'd all be gone and I had no idea what we'd do then. But for now, I hoisted the massive heavy box of chunked pineapple, sliced pears, fruit cocktail and diced peaches and ran with it to the Jeep. I threw it in the back and ran back for another.
The next box I opened was macaroni and cheese. I grinned thinking of the kid's happiness all wrapped up into one stupid little box of cheesy noodles. I ran with that one, too, and loaded it on top of the others.
After I was finished, only seven boxes would fit in the Jeep and the last one sat in the passenger seat, so when I ran across Cain he'd have to hold that one. And it was full of canned Clam Chowder, the heaviest one. Poor guy.
I slammed the Jeep into gear without looking back and pressed the gas pedal as hard as I could. I was so ready to leave this place. I sped out to the main highway and then adopted a slower speed in case any Enforcers were out and about. And I was sure they were. Or at least I hoped they had some kind of alarm system. But then I thought back. I'd been there for almost an hour… No. There was no alarm system. I idly thought about how long those people would lay there before someone noticed. The next wave of people to come to the food maybe?
The highway was a long stretch of nothing. The grass was nonexistent anymore. Everything was dust and rocks and mud from melted snow. The trees were dead or dying. There was no life left at all. The planet was dying, we were dying. It didn't make any sense. Why would the Lighters destroy the planet that they wanted to inhabit?
Unless they were wiping everything out just to start over.
I made the slow and long ride, feeling the kink in my neck from leaning over the steering wheel for so long to start the car. I almost smiled. I did it. I got the food, hotwired a car and escaped unscathed, all by myself. I wasn't so helpless after all.
And right then, as if the universe wanted to show me how absolutely wrong I was, I saw green lights in my mirror. I could barely see over the boxes, but the lights were there. And I was alone, with a carload of stolen food, fleeing the crime scene where murder had just been committed….at the Need Warehouse.
I chuckled in desperation and disbelief. Could the odds be more stacked against me? "I get it!" I said in hysterics. "I get it, world! You want to put me in my place? I'm there, trust me. I'm being squished on the bottom of the totem pole as we speak!"
"Miss?" I heard muffled through the window. "Exit the vehicle please, with hands raised."
I took a deep breath and did what he asked. If he was going to take me to another enforcement facility, I'd have to just chance it and run. I refused to go back there.
My mind ran with ideas of how to escape when I was looking down th
e sights of his pistol. He leaned his head to the side and spoke into the radio on his shoulder. "This is unit thirty seven. I'm currently at my last radioed in coordinates. Send back-up, over."
Well…crap. This was it. A bullet in the back, knowing that I did everything I could do to save my family? Or back to the enforcement facility to be tortured and have to wait for rescue, knowing they were risking too much to come and save me?
I turned and ran.
Get A Wriggle On
Chapter 17
Merrick
"I don't know why you're doing that," I heard Jeff say from below me. "It's pointless, isn't it?"
I looked down at him from my perch on the ladder. I turned and went back to nailing the studs with my hammer into the stairs. "It gives me something to do. Though I guess it is kind of pointless." I sighed. "We did so much work at the store and look what happened? All that work for nothing. We just had to leave it there."
"It wasn't for nothing," he argued and crossed his arms. This meant it was 'lecture time'. "Everyone was a little more comfortable because of the hard work we did. We had plenty of room for when new people came. It was worth it in my book. I meant it was pointless to fix the stairs because the wood's rotten. Nails won't help that…" he waved his hand at it, "thing."
I looked at it. No, it wouldn't help. I threw my hammer across the floor, enjoying the solid thud it made against the concrete wall. A few chunks of concrete fell to the floor.
"I know she's gone, and it's not ideal," Jeff continued. "But we knew they might stay out tonight if they needed to. We have no idea what's going on out-"
"That's exactly right. No idea," I barked. "I know all the variables, Jeff, but I don't have to like them. She could be asleep in the Jeep with Cain right now, safe and sound, or she could be in another enforcement facility and we'd never even know until they didn't show up tomorrow night. That's a big window. Do you know how much they could do to her in that amount of time?"