I stood on a makeshift bridge, looking down at rolling water that, apparently, threatened the little community we were building above Genesis. It hadn’t, despite our dire fears, blown up. Perhaps Isaac Icahn had never thought to get caught.
I didn’t know. This was ‘grown up’ stuff, and since I had safely returned six weeks earlier, I was now back to my status of first year Warrior, or One as they called us. I was apparently old enough to stand still and hold the measuring stick Patrick had thrown at me when he’d told me to hurry up and get over to the bridge.
“Look,” one of the non-Warrior agriculture experts spoke. He was a little man with no hair left and a strange, crooked nose. “I’m not an expert on life above ground but I think it’s very likely that if we get any more snow—and considering that it’s only January I think that’s likely—the river is going to flood. My best advice, move the colony to higher ground.”
Patrick sighed. “Again.”
“You guys are in charge.” The little man shrugged. I couldn’t remember his name, if they’d even told it to me. “It’s what I would recommend.”
“Okay, Paul. Thank you.”
He shook his head and trotted away with the gait of a person who was not in charge. I could tell the difference now. The Warriors were all walking like they carried the weight of the world on their shoulders, and Patrick looked like he’d aged ten years.
“What do you think, Rachel?”
I blinked. “What do I think?”
He nodded. “That’s what I asked.”
“I think I shouldn’t have an opinion. It’s up to you guys. Do we move or don’t we? I have no idea.”
“You were listening, weren’t you? Or were you off in the la-la land you inhabit these days?”
Ah. So this was what he wanted to talk to me about. This was one of those adult times when they say one thing because they actually want to lead up to speak about another topic.
“I was in and out of paying attention.”
He nodded. “That’s what I thought.”
“It’s not like I have some sort of special knowledge that can help with this. I’m happy to help haul out the tents or to move us back underground if that’s what it comes to.”
Why on earth were we talking about this? I shifted from one foot to the other.
“I know. You always do your job. They say you took down two Vampires all by yourself and that you’re practically training Deacon all by yourself.”
“I don’t mind training him.” He was a fast learner and he didn’t talk much when I didn’t feel like talking. “So what’s the problem?”
Obviously there was one or Patrick wouldn’t be standing here, staring at a river, giving me some kind of life lesson I was missing.
“Life is not just working. I haven’t seen you light up in six weeks.”
A certain wolf with curly blond hair that was always messy had gone away and taken all my light with him. Except no one wanted to hear me say that anymore. Everyone wanted happy and I’d thought I was doing a good job of giving it to them.
Apparently, I’d been wrong.
“There’s not much to light up about. We have to take care of all these people. They’re all depending on us to keep them alive up here. It keeps snowing. It’s cold all the time and we have no idea how to handle any day-to-day living above ground.”
Patrick moved until he stood next to me. “They always did depend on us. Now they get to do it head on. That’s not such a bad thing. And as for the rest?” He threw his hands in the air. “I guess we’ll either make it or we won’t.” He grinned. “You might as well get happy about it.”
“We lost two people last night to the blood suckers.”
His smile fell. “I know. It could have been a lot more if you hadn’t been there. You fight remarkably well for a One, but that’s no surprise.”
What? “Why isn’t it a surprise?”
“Your parents were natural born Warriors. No one could touch your father.”
That was hard to imagine. When he wasn’t brooding, he spent half his time wandering drunk in the woods. Apparently, Vampires didn’t like the smell of booze or he’d have gotten eaten weeks ago. Hey, there was a thought. We could get everyone loaded all of the time.
“Thank you for the compliment, Patrick.”
He sighed. “You’re welcome.”
He pointed at the measuring stick. “Go take that to Chad.”
“He needs it?”
“Yep.” He nodded. “He and some of the others are down in the habitat hauling sandbags.”
“Okay.”
I liked going down to Genesis. It was the only time I ever got really warm. I walked to the elevators as I tried to figure out what Patrick had been talking about and found I couldn’t make sense of it. He wanted me to be happy. I was mostly happy. How happy did I have to be?
I nodded at Frank, who still guarded the entrance to the habitat since we didn’t want monsters getting down there, I pushed the button to call the elevator.
“Beautiful day, Rachel.”
I smiled at him. “If you say so.”
“Oh come on, the sun is in the sky, there isn’t a cloud to mar the beauty of the blue above us.”
I realized something. “Frank, you’re not wearing your sunglasses.”
“Yeah, I got used to the light.”
“You did?”
“Sure. I gave it to one of the younger non-Warriors who still needed them.”
I touched my glasses. Frank whistled as he walked around the perimeter. I turned my back so he couldn’t see me as I faced the elevator. Slowly, with shaking fingers, I pulled the glasses off.
I waited for the pain to hit my pupils. Only it never came. I blinked a couple of times as I realized what Frank had said happened to him must have happened to me too even though I hadn’t realized it.
I had gotten used to the sunlight.
And Frank was right. There really wasn’t a cloud in the blue, blue sky.
The elevator dinged and I stepped inside. I held on for dear life as I let it take me below ground to the place that had been my home for sixteen years. It shook, violently. I would never trust the darn thing.
It banged open and I stepped inside the habitat. Sure enough, on the bridge to the non-Warrior part of town stood a group of male Warriors hauling sandbags. A large collection of them was piled up next to the elevators presumably to be brought Upwards at some point.
But that wasn’t what caught my attention.
All of the Warriors were shirtless.
My breath caught in my throat. I’d never seen a guy my own age without his shirt before.
“Hey, Rachel.” Chad waved his hand to get my attention. He didn’t need to do that. All of my attention was completely fixated on him.
My cheeks heated up. Had Patrick Lyons sent me down to Genesis to see his son shirtless?
“Hi, Chad.”
I was lucky I could form words over the humiliation that thought produced inside of me. He couldn’t have done that. No way. No how. It would be too weird. No, Chad had needed the measuring stick.
I walked forward holding the stick out in front of me. “Your dad says you need this.”
He scratched his brown hair, some of it falling over his eyes. He needed a haircut, and the thought made me smile.
“I do?”
There. He had just confirmed my worst nightmare. Patrick Lyons had sent me down her to gawk at Chad’s abdominal muscles, and the strangest part was that I was actually doing it. I stood there, staring at Chad like I’d never seen him before.
He put out his hand. “I’ll take it, but I can’t imagine what for.”
“Maybe to measure your biceps.”
I put my hand over my mouth. No, I had not said that aloud.
His grin was priceless as his eyes lit up. “Um, yeah. Maybe.”
I turned around. I had to get out of there now. “Hey, Rachel.”
I stopped moving. “Yes?”
“We still need to tattoo you, girl.”
I stared at him. “Are you kidding? I think my first trip up marked me enough.”
“What are you talking about?”
If I hadn’t seen genuine confusion in his eyes, I would have thought he was playing me for a fool.
I pointed at my cheek. “My permanent reminder.”
“Oh.” He shrugged “That’s not the same thing. Besides, I hardly notice that anymore.”
Goosebumps tingled on my arms and I wondered, for a second, if there were Werewolves around. No, I realized, there weren’t. It was Chad. His words had made me feel better.
They’d made me…happy.
So I smiled at him, grinned really and he did the same to me.
“Good luck with the sand bags.”
“Thanks. Good work on patrol last night.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
Man, I might be totally inept when it came to talking to boys, but Chad’s father had been right, there were lots of things to be happy about. If I looked at them without my sunglasses on.
***
My name is Rachel Clancy
I lived through my sixteenth birthday…barely.
I’m scarred, skinny where I should be round and round where I’d like to be skinny.
The world ended thirty years before I was born.
I’d like to think we’re starting again. Even if the details of it were things I’d rather not have to get involved with.
I’m happy, most of the time. And some day, maybe I’ll stop listening for wolves calling into the night, coming back to get me.