There were times, Piper would swear, she could feel her mother’s presence. It was the strangest thing. Distracting. And given her current circumstances, being distracted was dangerous.
Piper forced her back up straighter against the wall she was leaning on and lifted her chin. Thinking about her family was not an option; homesickness knocked the wind right out of her, and looking vulnerable was dangerous as well. Cool confidence, she reminded herself, as she watched people trickle into the mess hall for lunch. You are strong and capable. Polite, but remote. Untouchable. She hadn’t figured out all the nuances of the social hierarchy here yet, but she was crystal clear on one fact: There would be no easy resolution to the problems and tensions plaguing this group.
She and Noah had arrived here three weeks ago. They had been some of the last kids to leave UNC’s campus; Piper didn’t have a concrete plan, and Noah didn’t want to leave until she did. When she lost contact with her family and it became obvious the plague was going to spread, Noah offered an option she preferred to heading to her family’s cabin alone.
“My dad and my brother, they’re, well, they’re…” He had trailed off, rubbed the back of his neck, then continued in an embarrassed rush. “They’re survivalists, okay? They have a compound in the mountains, just outside of Walden. We can go there and see what’s going to happen, wait this thing out.”
The information gave her pause, but turning down his offer under the current circumstances would be the height of stupidity. “I would appreciate that, truly,” she had said. “I can meet my folks at Carrol Lakes later, if it comes to that. And my dad’s a prepper, so I doubt your dad or your brother will seem all that strange to me.”
“Uh…” Noah’s face had pinched, then flushed dull red. “Please don’t tell either one of them that. They have some pretty strong opinions about their lifestyle. They think anyone who doesn’t live like they do, or doesn’t prepare to the extent they have, are morons. ‘Arm Chair Survivalists’ and ‘Mall Ninjas,’ they call them. It’s why I don’t go home much.”
They had packed up and headed out the day after the announcement that the plague had become a pandemic. Piper had racked her brain for a way to get a message to her folks about where she was going, and eventually just ended up leaving the information written on the mirrors in her dorm room with a permanent marker. Noah had balked at leaving the exact address – there was more survivalist in him than he wanted to admit – but had agreed to the general information “South-east of Walden.” How that would lead her folks to her, Piper had no earthly clue, but at the time it hadn’t been worth arguing over. She would join them in Colorado Springs if this blew over, or they would join her at the cabin if it didn’t.
It had taken them two days to make the 130-plus mile trip, what with Noah’s determination to not arrive empty-handed. He had insisted on stopping at every single grocery or drug store en-route, even the tiniest hole-in-the-wall dives – there wasn’t much food left by then, but he had cleaned out anything left on the shelves, even feminine sanitary supplies.
“For trade,” he had told her without a trace of embarrassment. “After the plague burns itself out.”
Noah’s brother Levi had met them at the entrance of what had once been a campground, and was now a compound housing one family – Noah’s sister Jenny, her husband and their three kids – and a half dozen individuals hand-selected and invited by their father to be a part of the group. Levi stayed well back from their vehicle as he informed them they wouldn’t be allowed in until he was sure they weren’t carrying the plague. He had obviously been less than pleased to see Piper, as well.
“Did you clear this with Dad?” His words were directed at Noah, but his eyes never left Piper’s face. Cold, cold eyes. Holding his gaze had been both uncomfortable and difficult, but she made herself do it anyway. She knew when she was being measured.
“No. I haven’t been able to reach him – cell service has been pretty much non-existent. That’s why I brought Piper – her folks are in Colorado Springs, and she hasn’t been able to connect.”
Finally, Levi’s gaze moved to his brother. “So you haven’t talked to Dad since when?”
“Monday morning. As soon as they announced the plague had left the Springs, nobody could get through to anybody.” Noah must have read something in his brother’s demeanor, because his eyes narrowed. “Why? What aren’t you telling me?”
“Dad’s sick.” Levi didn’t stall or try to soften the announcement. “He started running a fever Tuesday night. We thought we got everyone out of town and locked down in time, but we didn’t. Jenny’s youngest has it, too – little Karleigh.” Levi dropped his head then, so Piper wasn’t sure whether she’d seen a flash of emotion or not.
“How bad is it? I mean Jesus, Levi, he’s tough as hell. I can’t imagine…”
“It’s bad. Jenny’s taking care of them both, with Ruth and a few others spelling her. Ruth’s got us wearing masks and gloves, the works. So far, no one else has any symptoms, but we have to wait and see. We should know in 2 or 3 days. They’re saying the incubation on this thing is anywhere from 1 to 6 days, but Sanders thinks we should give it at least two weeks.”
“Brody Sanders? He’s here?” When Levi nodded, Noah blew out a breath, his face tight with tension. “And he’s what – in charge while Dad is sick?”
“Something like that.” Levi’s eyes were cold, cold again. “For the time being, anyway.”
“Fantastic.” Noah muttered under his breath. “Alright, so as of right now, we’re quarantined. Where are we staying?”
“That depends. Do you need one bed or two?”
It took a minute for the implication to sink in, then Noah blushed scarlet and Piper leaned to speak to Levi for the first time. “Two beds.” No embellishment or elaboration necessary.
Levi’s eyes shifted back and forth between them for a moment, then he frowned and shook his head. “This is trouble Noah. It would be better if she were already spoken for. Think about that while you guys are twiddling your thumbs for the next 14 days.” He pointed down the right fork in the two-track. “Head down to cabin six. You’ll have to pump your water and there’s no electricity, but there’s a wood-burning stove and plenty of wood stacked outside. Outhouse is right behind the cabin. Do you need food?”
Noah’s face was still burnished with embarrassment. “We’re good for a day or two.”
“We’ll drop off supplies on the edge of the clearing tomorrow, along with a walkie-talkie. If either of you get sick, let us know. I’ll keep you posted on Dad.”
And without so much as a goodbye or another glance in Piper’s direction, he turned and walked up the left fork in the two-track. Piper watched him go, then turned to look at Noah.
“’Spoken for?’” She didn’t need to ask if Levi had been serious.
“I’m sorry.” He wouldn’t look at her, focusing instead on bumping along the rugged two-track. They passed several cabins, numbered in reverse order: Eight, seven, then six. Noah pulled up close to the door, then shut the engine off and stared at the steering wheel for a moment. The cooling engine ticked in the silence.
“Piper, I’m sorry. Best-case scenario, this is just a short-term situation. We’ll get you connected with your folks, and figure out how to get you to them.” He looked at her finally, and his grim expression made the hair on the back of her neck prickle. “But just in case that’s not how it works out, I should fill you in on the group dynamics. I’m not sure who all is here, but I’m pretty sure they’re not your kind of people.”
Piper frowned. “Meaning what, exactly? That I’m a snob?”
“No.” Noah gave her an impatient look. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. They’re not my kind of people, either. Look, let’s unload and settle in. We’ve got two weeks to fill, and explaining this could take most of ‘em.”
The next day, following the delivery of their promised supplies, Noah had used the walkie-talkie to both check on his father and ask Levi for a complete list of the compound’s current inhabitants. Noah’s father was still alive, but reading that list had returned the grim look to his face.
“Except for Jenny and her husband, all of these people are military or former military. Army and Marines, mostly, three of them special forces. And besides Jenny, there’s only one other woman – Ruth Mitchell. She’s a medic, did tours in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Pakistan. She put in 30 years before she got out. I know her pretty well – she’s alright. But some of these guys…” His voice trailed off and he shook his head wearily. “I’m not sure what Dad was thinking. This is a real testosterone fest - so many alpha males living together is bound to cause problems.”
“Is that why Levi said it would be better if I were ‘spoken for?’”
“Yeah.” Noah looked miserable. “Look, we can still hope this will just be short term. Have you tried your folks lately?”
“No signal. And my cell is just about dead.” Piper went for a reassuring tone, not sure if she was trying to comfort Noah or herself. “I grew up in Colorado Springs, Noah – Fort Carson, Peterson Air Force Base, NORAD, the Air Force Academy. It’s not like I haven’t been around people in the military.”
“I know. But you knew them from a civilian perspective, in non-combat conditions. This is different. We may not think of this as a war, but you can damn sure bet they do.”
“True. So.” Piper took a deep breath. “Let’s talk about the contingency plan, then. Say I’m going to be here a while. Should we present ourselves as a couple?”
Noah looked up swiftly, analyzing. Softly, he asked, “In name only?”
“Yes.” She would not insult him with an apology.
Noah masked whatever he was feeling so completely, she couldn’t read even a hint. The trait made him a hell of a poker player. “That might work in the short term, but not for any length of time. It’s too easy to tell when a couple is intimate, when they’re fighting, stuff like that.” He grinned suddenly. “Remember?”
Piper laughed. “In our dorm, freshmen year! We used to bet on who was hooking up and who was holding out. I had forgotten all about that.”
Noah snorted with disdain. “Of course you forgot – I won the contest, and you never paid up.”
“You did not win! We couldn’t get confirmation on half of them, and even if one of your boys blabbed, there was no guarantee it wasn’t just big talk!”
“You are one sore loser, Piper Allen. C’mon, admit it – I was better than you at reading the situation.”
Piper cocked her head to the side as she remembered another detail. “You used to say it was because you watched your older brother. You could always tell when he had scored with one of his girlfriends.”
Noah winced. “I probably should have kept that to myself. Could get awkward. But seriously,” he sighed. “Pretending to be a couple is a bad idea. Some of these guys just don’t respect social norms and boundaries. If they thought they had a chance with you, they’d push me to defend you. I can hold my own in a bar fight, but these guys are trained in hand-to-hand. I don’t want to go there.”
“I don’t blame you, but I do need to point out that I’m completely capable of defending myself.” Piper raised her eyebrows. “You’ve been in a bar fight?”
“Growing up with Levi was a bar fight, day in and day out,” Noah said ruefully. “He wanted to be sure his little brother could protect himself, or so he said. And yes, I’ve been in exactly one bar fight.”
“Did you win?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Which means you lost.” Piper smirked until Noah looked up. His face was dark with regret.
“No, I won. It made me sick to my stomach. It’s not like the movies - it’s ugly. And embarrassing.” Noah stared into a middle space, gaze unfocused. “Levi used to tell me I wasn’t a fighter by nature, so I had to watch out. If I get pushed over that line, I lose control of myself. I don’t even remember a lot of the fight – my friends told me later that I pounded on the guy until his face was just mushy pulp. The cops broke it up, but I don’t remember that either.”
“I’m sorry. It sounds awful.” Piper reached out to squeeze his shoulder, and laughed a little. “I guess we’re opposites in that respect – my mom says I was born to brawl. When I was little, she had to bribe the neighborhood kids with cookies to get them to play with me. I was always slugging someone.”
“Yeah, not me. If I never have to be in a physical fight again, I’ll be happy.” He paused, searching for words. “I felt like I lost myself – like I had been taken over by someone I didn’t like and couldn’t control. My friends were all like, “Dude, that was awesome!’ and I just wanted to hide somewhere and puke.”
“I really am sorry, Noah. I shouldn’t have teased you.”
Noah shrugged. “It’s okay. But if you don’t mind, I’d rather change the subject.”
And so they had. As predicted, Noah had spent much of their two week confinement talking through the rest of the list. In addition to Ruth the medic, there were two arms experts, one of whom was Levi, two field survival specialists, a communications specialist, and a mechanic. Everyone had a specific role to play, and most of them had cross-over training in other skills – Levi and Tyler Kelly, the mechanic, were also the group’s cooks, and Noah, she was surprised to learn, had been trained as an EMT – his father intended him to serve as backup for Ruth. Finally, there was Brody Sanders, who was a tactician like Noah’s father.
“Sanders is the son of a guy my dad served with in the Marines,” Noah explained. “He’s only a few years older than Levi, so early 30’s, but he’s totally old-school. He’s fourth-generation Marines. His dad lived in Walden until he died from cancer a few years back – he was one of dad’s best friends. Dad felt like it was his duty to look after Sanders, but neither Levi nor I like him much.”
“Why not? Were you jealous of your dad’s attention?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s like I said – Sanders is old school. He fancies himself a real hard-ass, and in a way, he is – he thinks qualities like compassion and mercy are weaknesses. And he can justify anything. I’m pretty sure he’s the only man on Earth I’m afraid of.”
That surprised her. “You’re not scared of your dad? Or Levi?”
“No, not at all. I wouldn’t want to face either one of them in a fight, but if I did, at least I know they’d fight fair. Even if you beat Sanders fair and square, you could never turn your back on him again. He’d put a knife between your ribs and you’d never see it coming.”
On the 5th day of their isolation, Noah’s father died. Levi came to the clearing to tell them, his face lined but controlled. He looked a decade older than the first time Piper had seen him.
“He fought hard, Noah. It gave him a lot of comfort to know you were here, even if he couldn’t see you.”
Piper rested a hand on Noah’s shoulder. His face was locked tight, but he couldn’t hide the misery or the sheen of tears in his eyes when he looked at her. He rested a hand over hers for a moment, then turned back to his brother.
“And Karleigh? How is she?”
Again, Levi didn’t hesitate with harsh truth. “She’s not going to make it. Lucas is sick, too.” This time, Piper didn’t have to guess at what Levi was feeling – it was all over his face. He was grieving for his niece and nephew and didn’t feel a need to hide it.
“Jesus, they’re just babies. Karleigh is what – 3? And Lucas will be 9 next month, is that right?”
“If he makes it. It’s bad, Noah. Jenny is crazy. We can hardly get her to eat or sleep. She made Aaron take Caden to one of the remote cabins – they’re both fine so far, but Aaron is just totally out of it. That little Karleigh, she’s the apple of his eye. I took Max out to stay with them until it’s over, one way or the other – he’s got a comforting way about him, and he’ll make sure they both eat and rest.”
Noah’s hands clenched into fists. “How much longer do we have to stay here? We haven’t had contact with anyone but each other for six days, and neither one of us is sick. We should be doing something to help.”
“I told Sanders you’d feel that way, but he says two weeks. Before Dad died, he asked me to abide by Sanders’ decisions. For now, that’s what I’m going to do.” Grief flashed on Levi’s face again. “And Noah, I’m sorry, but we can’t wait to bury him.”
“I understand.” It was all Noah could get out before he turned his back on both of them and stood there for a moment, hands on his hips. His shoulders shook once, and he walked swiftly back to the cabin without a word to either of them.
Piper turned back to Levi, and their eyes held as they measured each other without the buffer of Noah. When Levi spoke, his voice was low and gravely with emotion.
“It’s harder for him. Noah. He and Dad didn’t see eye to eye, and Noah puts a lot of stock in agreement and getting along. He’s a peace-keeper, always has been. It’s going to eat at him, that he and Dad couldn’t talk before he died.”
“Yes, it will.” Piper rubbed a hand over her heart, feeling the mother-bond she could never quite sever, no matter how disgusted she got with her Martha-Stewart-wanna-be mom. She would give anything – anything at all – to feel her mother’s plump arms around her right this minute. “I understand exactly how he feels. I’ll do what I can to help.”
“Are you sleeping together?”
“None of your business.”
“So, no.” Levi shook his head. “You’re trouble, Piper. When you join the group, you’re going to want to tread careful. You’re too young and too pretty.”
His words were not a compliment, and Piper didn’t take them that way. “Noah has been filling me in. I’ll watch my step.”
“You’re going to need to do more than that. Lay off the make-up. And do you have baggier clothes?”
Piper felt heat creep along her hairline. In spite of her best efforts, he was getting under her skin. “I’m not wearing make-up.” She held her arms out, and looked down at her baggy UNC sweatshirt and utilitarian jeans. “And what would you suggest? A snowmobile suit?”
“If you have one.” He didn’t laugh, and there wasn’t even a hint of humor in his eyes. “Wear a pair of Noah’s jeans. And a baseball cap. Josh is in contact with a ham operator in the Springs – we’ll see if he can get any information about your parents, and we’ll figure out how to get you to them as quickly as possible.”
Piper had had just about enough. “Wow. I apologize sincerely for neglecting to bring my burka. Any other orders you want to bark at me before I head inside to ritually disfigure myself for the good of the group?”
Levi didn’t even acknowledge her sarcasm. “Yes. When you and Noah join us, don’t make eye contact and keep your head down. Don’t speak to any of the men unless it would be rude not to. Answer briefly, then walk away. Don’t engage in conversation with them, don’t laugh, don’t smile. Any of those actions will be taken as an invitation to pursue.” His eyes narrowed. “Unless you want to be pursued?”
“Hmm, let me think.” Piper tapped her chin with her index finger. “Do I want to be pursued by a group of backwoods military knuckle-draggers? So I can – what – fulfill my life’s ambition of being a womanly little bed-warmer, maybe with some campfire cooking and cabin-floor-scrubbing thrown in for funsies? Golly, tempting as that sounds, I’m going to have to give it a ‘Hell no.’ Wait!” She held her hand out to him excitedly. “Unless you throw in latrine duty. I just can’t say ‘no’ to latrine duty!”
“Shit.”
Levi hung his head, and for a moment, Piper thought she was going to receive a well-deserved apology. She was decidedly wrong.
“Look. I get that you’re real smart, and you’re pretty quick with that wit. Noah has been talking about you for almost three years, whenever he bothers to come home. You’re both into that sociology shit, studying different cultures and mores and what-not. Well, now you get to find out if you’re life-smart, not just book-smart. You break the rules at UNC, you get a little paddy-slap, maybe a call to mommy and daddy. You break the rules here, and you are out the door. I won’t have Noah put himself in harm’s way trying to protect you, and I won’t tolerate the danger to what’s left of my family if you get this group all stirred up.”
She would be good and god-damned if she’d let this guy run her over. Guest or not, there were some basic rights she was not going to cede. “So you’re the big boss of the group now? What about Brody Sanders? Given your attitude, I can see why your father left him in charge.”
Levi’s face went still and blank – it appeared the Ramsey brothers shared a talent for poker-faces. “Like I said, you’re quick. And you’re not afraid to take a shot when you see it. You think I’m some kind of Neanderthal, some kind of chauvinist jackass, but I’m trying to help you. You can either figure out the new rules and abide by them, or I’ll personally toss you out on your clever little ass. Are we clear?”
“Crystal.” She hissed the word at him. Spinning on her heel, she marched said ass back to the cabin, feeling his eyes on her the whole way. At the door, she turned to stare him down. She was surprised to find not anger but despair and resignation written plainly on his face.
“Christ.” He heaved a deep sigh. “We are so fucked.”
With that, he turned and headed back the way he’d come. They hadn’t spoken a single word since. Noah, being Noah, had noticed the strain between them whenever Levi visited the clearing, but he didn’t ask and Piper didn’t fill him in.
The remainder of the two weeks had crawled by, punctuated by the deaths of little Karleigh and her brother Lucas a few days later. Levi reported that their sister was wild with grief; she had joined her husband and surviving son in the most remote of the cabins, and he wasn’t sure when the bereaved family would be returning to the group. Max, one of the field survival specialists, was still with them, making sure they stayed fed and safe.
Jenny and her family still weren’t back when Noah and Piper’s quarantine ended. Within 24 hours of joining the group, Piper determined she had a problem. Rather, she had four of them. As it turned out, the chauvinist jackass Neanderthal had been right.
Ethan Torres and Adam Peterson, field survival specialist and sniper respectively, were openly vying for her attention. It took her almost a week to remember which name went with which man because they were always together, always flanking her whenever she left the kitchen, where she had been put to work washing dishes and helping with food prep, or when she sat down to eat. Josh Bennett, the communications specialist, was slightly more subtle, but only slightly; he updated her hourly on the news from Colorado Springs, whether there was news or not.
Worst of all, though, was Brody Sanders.
He never spoke to her and he never stopped watching her. The feeling of his eyes on her had become distressingly familiar, and she was pretty sure he had started following her to and from the cabin she still shared with Noah – either that, or she had crossed the line into full-blown paranoia.
To a certain extent, Piper had taken Levi’s advice. She had kept quiet and kept her head down while she studied the group, trying to learn the lay of the land. She had always prided herself on her adaptability, on her ability to get along with many different types of people and social groups, but this collection of steroid-fueled good ol’ boys was beyond her capabilities to adapt to. Worse, she didn’t even want to.
If she had to pretend to be amused by one more juvenile, risqué joke, or listen to one more exaggerated story of battlefield ass-kickin’, or bite back one more grammatical correction – “You ‘don’t got none?’ Are you serious? Don’t you mean you ‘ain’t got any?’” – she was going to suffer some kind of aneurism, she was sure of it. There was a limit to how far she was willing to contort herself to fit in. And she had just about reached it.