I perk an ear and strain to listen to the commotion going on upstairs, then shrug and chalk it up to Lils, more than likely, having a temper tantrum.
For as long as I’ve known her, she’s tried her best to convince me we don’t need anyone else. That our little family of survivors is perfect the way it is, and that adding another person, or persons, will only damage the community we’ve built.
As I go back to the stew pot in front of me, I raise the lid, lean down and take a quick whiff. I’m impressed that they could find a boar that wasn’t contaminated when every single one I’ve come across on my hunts have shown signs of sickness.
I wonder if their vegetable garden outside has sprung anything useful.
Walking toward the front door, I raise my shirt over my nose and mouth before stepping outside.
I arch an eyebrow when I see the townspeople still gathered outside.
“Something wrong?” I ask one of the New Leaders curiously.
“Not at all. We’re here to make sure everything stays the way it should under the New Treaty.”
“Okay,” I reply, feeling slightly uneasy. “Want to help me pick through their garden?” I ask, nodding toward the small, gated patch close by.
He nods as falls into step beside me, and I think that maybe now would be a good time to ask him something.
“Since we’re clearly going to be spending a lot of time together, care to tell me your name?”
“Tarquin,” he answers with a grin.
“Care to explain why you can’t be bothered to protect yourself from the air, Tarquin?” I ask in a stern tone. If he wants to live to see the New Treaty last, he should practice basic safety precautions.
He stops walking and looks away for a moment before turning his eyes back to me. I can tell he’s got something on his mind, but getting him to say it will probably be harder than it’s worth.
“Just be sure to protect yourself against the elements,” I say as I reach over and slap his shoulder.
“We don’t have to when you’re around,” he states cautiously.
“What?” I ask as I begin walking again.
What goes good with boar?
I crouch down on the other side of the gate and pick through the planted vegetation.
“You don’t know, do you?” he asks in a kind, soft tone as he crouches next to me and reaches for a sprout, grunting as he pulls it up by the roots.
Carrots? I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen one of those, I muse as I glance quickly at his find.
“You are the protection against the elements, Colby. You’re the protection against all the things that can harm, change, or kill us.”
I roll my eye.
He sounds like Mom.
“Okay, well, as your protector, I’m telling you to cover your nose and mouth when you’re out in these storms. And wear heavy clothing so nothing attaches to your skin. I’ve had some in my home come back inside with blisters welting their bodies just from being in the sun for more than an hour.”
“Are you going to save us, Colby?” he asks, as he reaches for a sprout and extracts another carrot.
“From what?” I bark. I take a deep breath, then let it out slowly. Having Lils be angry with me is starting to grate on my already frayed nerves, and I’m taking it out on him. “I’m sorry for yelling.”
“It’s okay, my friend,” he assures me as he drops the carrot into the small pile he’s forming between us. “I just had to ask.”
“Well, if I’m being honest, I wouldn’t hold my breath. The last time there was a Messiah, he got nailed to a cross for his troubles, and I kind of need my hands,” I state dryly.
Tarquin chuckles as he moves a foot away and goes back to picking through the garden.
“Have you ever had a boar?” I ask him as I manage to rip a potato out of the ground.
“Boar? No, I’ve never had the pleasure.”
“Me neither,” I say, casting him a grin. “But it just so happens that I’ve got one cooking inside. If you want to meet me by the back door in about an hour or so, I’m more than happy to share. I just wish there was enough for everyone,” I finish softly as I cast a glance toward the townspeople, still huddled in their small groups, chatting away.
“You’re right. You aren’t a Messiah. That last one was able to make food multiply according to the old scrolls,” he teases with a grin.
I shake my head as I let out a laugh, continuing to struggle with what I hope is another potato when something lands with a dull thud right on top of the garden.
I stumble since I’m taken off guard and fall back on my ass, exchanging a confused, startled look with Tarquin, before I compose myself and look at the heap in the middle of the now ruined garden.
“Hi, Daddy!”
Daddy?
I quickly turn my eye up toward the upper window of my home and see Bevie leaning out of the window, waving at something on the other side of the treaty line, then scramble to my feet.
She has a streak of blood dripping down the side of her face. Her hair is … blonde? I glance at the tatters in the garden and inhale a sharp breath.
Heidi? But, how?
A flush of anger surges through me as I look up at Bevie again. She folds her arms on the windowsill and glances down at me with a grin on her face. “Do you like it?” she asks, flipping one of her newly braided ponytails.
Where the hell did she get that from?
My body begins to tremble as a sickening feeling hits me in the pit of my stomach.
I left her alone with Lillian.
I was stupid enough to think she would take care of her.
My blonde, charming little daughter.
An eruption of rage escapes me in a guttural shout as I start running down the side of the house and kick the back door open.
Beverly was never cured.
If anything, she’s become much worse.
Please be okay, Lils. Colby’s coming.