Without law 16, p.9
Without Law 16, page 9
I was proud of the men in that situation, too. They always were understanding and never tried to push the women to talk to them. They completely respected their choices, and it made me proud to have saved them as well. When we’d found the men they were with a group of women, too, and I’m sure they’d seen what was done to them by their captors. The men weren’t in great shape, either, though, they had been run ragged doing the physical labor required to keep the compound going, and with barely any food they’d withered away.
Now, though, I looked out at the happy, hardworking faces of the men and women around me, and I couldn’t feel anything but pride. They’d come so far from where I’d found them, and together we’d all built something absolutely incredible. It was amazing to think about what we might accomplish even if the power never came back on. We had our own little haven, and if we could continue to build and grow then there was no limit to what we would be able to accomplish.
I heaved the large bag of corn I had up onto my shoulder and walked it back over to the porch of Betty’s old farm house. Some of the group was there canning the vegetables as they were harvested, though I did notice a large box that had some fresh veggies in it that I presumed were for dinner.
After I dropped off my haul, I got a bottle of water out from the box. I opened it and took a drink as I walked back to my station, but before I could get there I saw Jenny walking toward me, and it looked like she had a purpose.
“Jenny,” I said as she got closer. “What’s wrong?”
The young redheaded girl looked nervous, and she bit her lip as she approached me.
“Follow me,” she whispered, and she kept walking past me.
I glanced around curiously to see if anybody had noticed, but everyone continued working so I figured that nobody had seen us.
I followed Jenny as she walked behind the house, but I was starting to get really concerned. What was it that she couldn’t tell me in front of her grandmother Betty? The two always seemed incredibly close, and I was worried that there might be something seriously wrong with the young redheaded girl.
“Jenny,” I said as we got to the back of the house and out of sight of the rest of the group. “What’s going on? I need you to talk to me.”
“Okay, okay,” she said, but she bit her lip and closed her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” I asked. “What happened? Are you okay?”
When she didn’t answer I felt my whole body tense. Jenny was like a younger sister to me, and I’d always do whatever I could to protect her. She was family. If someone hurt her, then there would be hell to pay.
“Jenny, what happened?” I pushed, and I rushed over and placed my hands gently on her shoulders. “Who hurt you?”
“What?” she asked, and she looked up at me with surprise. “No, no, I’m not hurt.”
“Then what is it?” I asked. I was calmer, but now more confused than I had been.
“It’s embarrassing,” she said, and she bit her lip again. “But I know you’re going on a run soon…”
“We are,” I agreed. “It’s okay. Whatever it is, you can tell me, I’d never judge you. There’s no need to be embarrassed.”
“Okay,” she said, and she let out a deep breath, but she kept her eyes on the ground. “I need you to get me a…”
“A what?” I asked.
The young girl had mumbled something, but I hadn’t been able to make it out. Her voice had gotten so low I’d only known she was speaking by the way her mouth moved.
“A pregnancy test,” she whispered.
“Oh,” I said, and I could feel my head tilt back slightly with surprise.
“Please don’t tell my grandma,” she begged.
“Hey, hey,” I said. “It’s okay. I won’t tell anybody. Are you sure we don’t have any in the gym?”
“I’m sure,” she said with a nod. “I checked the other day. We’re all out.”
“Did you ask Marla?” I inquired. The nurse usually had a good tally of all of that kind of stuff.
“No,” she said. “But I added them to her list of things we were out of. I’m hoping she won’t notice.”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “Nobody has to know if you don’t want them to.”
I knew that Jenny and Joe had been seeing each other for a while, but I just figured that Jenny took advantage of the supply of birth control pills that we’d built up. Either she hadn’t, or the pills had failed, but either way she was clearly concerned.
“I just don’t want anybody to know yet,” she said, and she bit her lip yet again. “At least not until I’m sure.”
“Okay,” I agreed. “But are you okay with this? You seem really upset.”
“Honestly,” she said, and she let out a shaky breath. “I just don’t want to get my hopes up.”
“So you’re excited?” I asked with a small smile. “Or you will be if it’s positive, right?”
“Yes,” she said, and she smiled a bit as a blush came to her cheeks. “I… I’d love to have a baby.”
“Then I’m hoping it’s positive for you,” I said with a smile. “And don’t worry, I won’t tell anybody.”
“Thank you, Tav,” she breathed. “I would have gone to one of the girls, but I wasn’t sure who to go to. All of you are really close, but I felt like you’d keep my secret the best.”
“Don’t worry,” I said. “My lips are sealed. I’ll get you what you need.”
“Thank you, Tav,” the young girl said, and she wrapped her arms around my waist. “For everything.”
“Anytime,” I said, and I hugged her back before I released her and watched her walk back out to the field.
If Jenny was pregnant, then we’d have another baby sooner than I’d thought. Donna and Jeff were together, but I didn’t think they’d be looking to have kids anytime soon. And I wanted kids with the girls, but I was waiting until they were ready.
I tried to keep the grin off of my face as I made my way back over to the corn where the rest of the girls were working. It was difficult since I was so excited at the possibility of there being a new life on campus. Of course, I didn’t really have anything to do with the process of making it, and I probably wouldn’t be helping with the delivery, but I was so proud that we’d created a place that was safe enough for Jenny to bring life into the world.
We also had Marla and Paige, and they’d be the ones who would be there for the delivery. It was still a scary thought, especially considering Jenny would have to undergo labor without any pharmaceutical help, but I had faith that she’d be alright. After all, her grandmother was one tough woman, and Jenny tended to take after her.
A new life was just that much more reason to save our country, too. I couldn’t allow the Korean army to take over and put Jenny and her baby into danger.
I had to take a deep breath and steady myself. Jenny had said that she didn’t want to get her hopes up, and yet here I was acting like the baby was already here.
I made a mental note to figure out a secure place to stash Jenny’s pregnancy test so I could slip it to her easily. It was clear that she didn’t want to be seen with one.
Since Jenny had added them to the list, then I could grab them without suspicion, but I’d still need to get the test to her unnoticed.
Above all else I wanted to keep Jenny’s secret protected. Her body was nobody’s business but her own, and I certainly didn’t want to be responsible for anyone finding out, particularly her grandmother. Jenny had been adamant that Betty not know about the test, and I planned to make sure that she didn’t.
It was early afternoon when everyone had finished with the day’s harvest, and once everything was finished at the farm then we all loaded up into our vehicles and headed back home.
Since there was still a good portion of the day left I helped a few of the guys bring the horses and cows out to the field behind the campus to graze. They were happy to get out of the barn, and I sat and watched them for a while before I helped with some weatherproofing for the dorm building for winter.
It didn’t seem like long before it was late in the day, and once the sun began to set and the evening had begun, Rolly made a large fire and everyone gathered in the courtyard.
The kids played football and some of the civilians sat in the grass with books or board games.
“Hey,” I said as Betty and Tara approached the fire carrying a large box. “Let me help you with that.”
“We’ve got it,” Betty told me, and the two of them set the box on the ground.
“What is that?” Bailey asked.
“It’s everything for dinner,” Tara said with a smile.
“Oh, yum,” Bailey said. “What are we having?”
“You’ll see,” Betty told her with a grin.
“Anything we can do to help?” Anna asked.
“Nope,” Tara said. “We got it.”
“Alright,” the redhead agreed, and she looked around. “How about some drinks to go with dinner?”
“That sounds wonderful,” Betty agreed. “I always do cook better with a glass of wine in my hand.”
“Coming right up,” Anna chuckled and headed into the gym.
While Anna went to get us drinks, I looked around at my people in the courtyard. Everyone was in groups or paired off, and I noticed one of the women from the compound was sitting with one of the guys we’d rescued from the National Guard compound. The two of them looked very close, and as I watched she leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips.
“When did that happen?” I whispered to Rolly with a small gesture.
“You didn’t know about them?” the old man chuckled. “They tried to keep it a secret for a little bit, but I figured you knew anyway.”
“If they tried to keep it a secret then how did you know?” Bailey laughed.
“I know everything around here,” Rolly said with a smile. “Only because my wife does.”
“That’s right,” Betty chuckled.
I smiled at the two of them but thought about the one big secret that Betty didn’t know.
Still, it was wonderful to see that the women had healed enough to actually be affectionate again. Donna, the psychiatrist we’d rescued from the National Guard compound, had been talking with them whenever they’d needed it. I had suggested that she put her skills to good use.
If ever there was a time that someone needed counseling, it was in the apocalypse. The whole world had turned upside down, and it could be difficult to cope with that alone. On top of that, nearly everyone that I’d encountered had gone through some sort of terrible hardships since the EMP had hit.
“Alright,” Anna said as she returned with a couple of bottles of wine as well as some of the homemade vodka that Renee had sent over. “Who wants what?”
“Give me that vodka,” Tara said with a grin.
“Me, too,” Paige agreed.
“I’d like some, too,” Bailey said.
“Vodkas all around,” Anna chuckled.
“I’ll take that, then,” Betty said playfully, and she grabbed one of the bottles of wine from the redhead’s hand.
I sipped my vodka while Betty and Tara cooked and everyone else chatted. Paige had finally put down the translation book, and she was actually interacting with everyone and relaxing, which I was glad to see. The brunette was our best hope at cracking the code, but she tended to work herself to the bone. If she hadn’t put the book down at dinner I had already planned on taking it from her so that she could focus on something else for a while.
Not only was it better for her mentally, but taking a break from a task like that could help her see something she previously couldn’t. A well rested pair of eyes was a fresh pair of eyes, and Paige needed her rest.
“So when are we going on our run?” Anna asked after some time.
“Yeah,” Bailey said. “I’m ready whenever.”
“Me, too,” Paige agreed.
“Ugh, you guys are always in a rush,” Tara said with a roll of her eyes.
“I just don’t like being stagnant,” Anna said, and then she looked over at Rolly and Betty. “Not that working on the farm is being stagnant.”
“I know what you mean, dear,” Betty laughed. “Harvesting crops isn’t exactly the thrill you all are used to.”
“It’s nice for a few days,” Anna said. “But I like to be out and about. Doing the same thing every day just isn’t what I’m used to.”
“We haven’t even been home for a few days,” Tara pointed out.
“I have to agree,” I said with a frown. “I think you all need to rest for another day at least.”
“Alright,” Anna said with a nod. “That’s fine with me. Whenever you’re ready, so are we.”
“Well, I’m going hunting soon,” Betty said. “We’re getting a little low on venison. Anybody who wants to go is welcome to join me. Rolly and I have gone the last couple of times.”
“You shouldn’t be out there,” I said with a shake of my head. “I’ll go hunting for us tomorrow.”
“Are you sure?” Rolly asked with pinched together eyebrows. “We don’t mind.”
“I’m sure,” I said with a smile. “I’d like to get out and walk in the woods for a bit. It’s been a while since I’ve been hunting.”
“I’ll go with you,” Bailey said.
“Really?” I asked.
“Yeah,” the blonde said. “It’s always nice to practice my shooting skills.”
“Psh, as if you need it,” Tara laughed.
“She’s right, you’re the best shot we have,” Paige agreed.
“Practice makes perfect,” Bailey said with a grin.
“Oh, whatever,” Tara said with an eye roll. “You were good at shooting from, like, day one. Practice had nothing to do with it.”
“Maybe if you practiced you’d be as good as her,” Anna teased.
“I highly doubt that,” Tara laughed. “But I’ll take my sneakiness over sharpshooting. We already have Bailey, we don’t need two snipers.”
I shook my head at the girls and opened my mouth to make a comment, but just as I did someone called my name.
“Tav!” a male’s voice yelled, and I turned around to see Dan come out of the dorm building.
“What is it?” I asked, my sense of danger immediately piquing.
“Renee is on the radio,” he said.
If the fort leader was calling us, then that could only mean trouble.
Chapter 6
I stood up and rushed to the dorm building. If Renee was on the radio then there could be trouble over at the fort, and I needed to see what was going on.
I pushed past Dan and went into the radio room as quickly as possible.
“Renee,” I said as I picked up the radio comm. “What’s going on?”
“Tav,” she said. “You’re back.”
“Yes,” I said. “Is everything okay?”
“We’re fine,” she answered. “I just wanted to make sure you were home. We were all getting worried.”
“Oh, okay,” I said, and I calmed down a little bit. “I don’t know if this communication line is safe right now. I’ll come see you soon.”
“Come whenever,” she said. “Over and out.”
I knew that Renee didn’t mean to cause any panic or stir up any trouble by calling, but I really couldn’t be sure that the radio signal we were on was safe. The Koreans could be listening in, and even if the guy that we’d interrogated hadn’t spoken English, that didn’t mean that none of them did.
They could easily have someone listening to all channels of communication, especially after everything we’d put them through over the past week or so. That was probably something that I needed to do as well. If the Korean troops were communicating through the channels we had at all, then I wanted to know about it.
We might not be able to decipher it easily, but we could try. I doubted that they would use a signal that we could easily find, but I’d seen them use walkie talkies, so they had to be on some sort of signal. Even if we couldn’t find them, though, there was still the chance that they were listening to us, and if that was the case, then we could use that to our advantage to skew the plan. There was no way to guarantee that they’d be listening, but it was something to keep in mind for the next battle.
I let out a deep sigh after I got off the radio with Renee, and I sat down in the chair of the small office-like room.
“Sorry,” Dan said from the doorway. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“It’s alright,” I told the young man with a smile. “Just next time make sure it’s not an emergency before you come get me. I got a little worried there.”
“Of course,” he said with a nod. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m okay,” I said, and I stood up and walked out of the room.
“What’s going on?” Anna asked as I walked back over to the fire.
“It was Renee just wanting to see if we were home yet,” I said.
“Good,” Kimmy said, but she still frowned. “We were worried.”
“I was, too,” I chuckled.
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea for us to be radioing each other,” Paige said, and she bit the inside of her mouth anxiously.
“I agree,” I said. “I told Renee that we’d come by soon.”
“We can swing by whenever we go for our run,” Anna said with a nod.
“We can go the day after tomorrow,” I promised.
I knew the girls were itching for something less mundane to do. They liked being the ones who got to go out and get supplies and take out any bad guys they came across. Working on the farm and at campus wasn’t cutting it at the moment.
Usually they weren’t so impatient, but I think they were all still on edge after our time in Boston. They knew that there were still plenty of North Koreans that needed to be taken down, and they didn’t like sitting still while the enemy was still out there.
“Oh, I was meaning to ask you,” Betty said with a frown.
“What is it?” I asked, and my eyebrows pinched together.
“I saw some weird weapons in the gym,” Betty said. “What are they? They look like guns of some sort, but I wasn’t sure.”
