When the sun rose the next morning, Mildred and J.B. greeted it gladly. They had taken the last watch of the night, and now their shift was over.
“Good morning.” Mildred pulled J.B. in close, so they were nearly nose to nose.
“Morning,” J.B. replied, and then he closed the gap and gave her a long, warm kiss. When they broke it, he was smiling. “You’re looking especially good this morning, Millie.”
“You, too.” Mildred chuckled. “I’d feel better after a nice, hot shower and a steaming-hot breakfast with a pot of coffee, though.”
“You mean no shower and an MRE, if we’re lucky?” J.B. laughed again. “Perfect start to another day.”
As he said it, Union strolled around the nearest hill, which she’d kept between her and the rest of the group for most of the night. She appeared perfectly rested and alert, no different from how she’d looked at the start of the night, though every time Mildred had caught sight of her during her watch, she’d been wide-awake.
Stopping to tower over the sleeping teammates, Union met Mildred’s gaze without acknowledging her. She looked briefly at J.B., then stuck two fingers in her mouth and let out a shrill whistle.
“Let’s go!” she shouted. “Time to move out!”
Instantly, the companions who’d been fast asleep until that moment sprang up from the ground, snatching and cocking weapons along the way. In a heartbeat, they were fully awake and ready for battle, all blasters pointing in the same direction, at the source of the commotion.
Just as quickly, they realized they’d been awakened by a false alarm.
“Fireblast!” Ryan snapped. “It’s just you?”
“Thought muties coming,” Jak said. “Almost killed you.”
“What’s the hell’s going on?” Ricky sounded noticeably less alert than the others, still groggy though ready for combat nonetheless.
But Ryan, by far, was most annoyed. “Is this your idea of a wake-up call?”
Union shrugged. “Call it what you will. I’m just letting you know that we need to get moving if we’re to have any hope of catching up with the muties.”
Ryan nodded slowly, then lowered his longblaster and approached her. “I’ll say this once and once only.” He said the next words through clenched teeth. “You are not the leader of us. You do not call the shots.” He glared at her with more than enough malice to send a very clear message. “Understand?”
Union stared at him for a moment, her expression as frigid as ever. Then, suddenly, her face changed. Her eyes widened, filling with what looked like fear and anger.
“Stop screaming at me!” She clamped her mouth shut, and her lips trembled until she burst out again. “Leave me alone!” Her voice was higher, reedy and cracking with panic. Her braid was white instead of black.
Ryan took a slow step back. He looked in Mildred’s direction, seeking a cue from the resident medical doctor.
Mildred had one, too. The signs were obvious, and she’d been giving it some thought during her watch. But before she could offer any insight, Jak beat her to it.
“Four women, one body,” he said. “That what she told me.”
“Multiple personality disorder,” Mildred added. “We’re talking to someone else now.”
Ryan nodded and focused his attention on Union. “I didn’t mean to scream at you.” He kept his voice even, his hands up with palms toward her. “And I’m not going to hurt you.”
Suddenly, Union’s face changed again. Her eyes narrowed, and her look of fear switched to one of fearless challenge. “You couldn’t if you tried.” Her voice was different, too—lower and raspier than any voice Mildred had heard her use so far. “You’re outnumbered, and you don’t even know it. You don’t know anything.”
“Then, tell us.” With that, Mildred walked over to stand just behind Ryan. “Whom are we speaking to now?”
Union ignored her and kept staring at Ryan. “Has anyone ever told you what a sorry-ass bunch of losers you people are?”
“Yeah,” Jak interjected. “All dead now.”
Union laughed loudly. “Him, I like.” She hiked a thumb over her shoulder in Jak’s direction. “Nothing like a pasty-faced wiseass to liven things up!”
“So what name?” Jak asked. “Crazy Bitch?”
Union laughed again. “Rhonda! You can call me Rhonda!”
Then she jabbed a finger at Mildred. “But you can call me ma’am.”
“Who was the other one?” Mildred asked. “The one we saw right before you?”
“Carrie.” Rhonda-Union wagged her head in disgust. “But trust me, you don’t want to deal with her. Talk about drama queens.”
“Who’s in charge?” Mildred asked. “You?”
Rhonda-Union snorted. “You couldn’t pay me enough to take that job.” She tapped her left temple—where the braid had changed color from white to auburn—and grinned. “That bitch Taryn is running this loony bin, more power to her.”
“Taryn?” Mildred repeated. “Who’s T—”
“Enough!” As Mildred watched, Union’s face shifted again. Her confrontational glare faded into a cold, stiff mask. “The more time we waste, the farther away the shifters take your friend.” She spun on her heel and headed back around the hill. “I’m leaving in five minutes, with or without you!”
Mildred blew out her breath. “Well, that was interesting.”
“Think know who Taryn is.” Jak smirked. “Like Rhonda better.”
“I don’t like any of them,” Ryan said.
“That you’ve met so far,” Krysty stated. “Jak said there are four women in one body, and I only count three so far.”
Mildred ticked them off in her head: Rhonda, Carrie, Taryn. Had personality number four already made an appearance and gone unnoticed?
“Unfortunately, they are…she is…our best chance of getting Doc back,” Ryan said.
“Unless she’s full of shit.” J.B. adjusted the brim of his fedora. “Or even more nuts than she seems so far.”
“Watch every move,” Jak said. “All can do.”
“The multiple personalities make her completely unpredictable,” Mildred stated. “She could do anything at any time with absolutely no warning.”
“So could we.” Ryan nodded once and headed toward his backpack. “For now, let’s do like the woman said and get moving. Pack your stuff and form up in five.”
Everyone followed his order and hurriedly set about rolling up bedding and stowing equipment. Mildred and J.B., who shared a bed, did theirs together with practiced teamwork.
But as they gathered their things, J.B. asked her a question under his breath. “She’s a ticking time bomb, right?”
Mildred shrugged as she hefted her backpack. “Too soon to say. She’s dangerous enough, but you already knew that. It just depends on how the balance in her head holds up under pressure.”
J.B. gave her a hand adjusting the weight of her pack, then shouldered his own. “Gotta say, I’m not sure about the stability of that balance.”
“Neither are any of us. Neither is she.” Mildred hopped forward and pecked him on the lips. “But we’ve handled crazier in our day.”
J.B. grinned and gave her a kiss of his own. “Some folks might say we’re a little crazy ourselves.”
Mildred nodded. “We need to get Doc back.”
“You’re right about that. We’re not the same without him. Something’s…off.”
“He’s family. We have to get him back.”
“We will, Millie.” J.B. clenched his jaw and nodded firmly. “We’ll blow the hell out of heaven and earth if that’s what it takes to get Doc back with us.”