Going Home 2: A Saint's Tale

Chapter 16

Flashback continued...

Fluke sputtered before whispering wildly, "You're a cop?"

Ohm carefully zippered the tent and crawled back into the sleeping bag. He turned on his side so he could face Fluke.

"Was." He sighed and continued whispering. "Yes, I was a cop. Even came from a family of cops. I was the fourth generation."

Fluke's mouth fell open. "What are you doing with these bastards then?"

"I spent most of last winter alone. I needed time. I watched my mom die while we were trying to protect a hospital. We were standing the riot line together and while I was fighting a fucker trying to throw himself over the shield wall, she moved to help me and opened herself up enough they stabbed her. I couldn't get her to the back fast enough. The line was disintegrating. Everything broke down into hand-to-hand. Too many people fighting. I just couldn't get past them and it became a route. Cops fleeing everywhere. We were suddenly not the good guys trying to keep access to the hospital open. We were a symbol of every fear the mob had and they were hunting us." Ohm's whisper was solid. No tremble or waver.

"I got us into a car and out but I couldn't stop the bleeding. It was too deep. The hospital was a battle zone. No way to get her to them."

He paused, hearing again her final words. "So proud, my son." as she cupped his face with a bloody hand.

"Ohm. I'm so sorry." Fluke reached and gently took Ohm's hand.

Clearing his throat, Ohm continued but he held onto Flukes hand.

"After that, the few of us that were left hid. There was no law as the riots took over everything." He huffed. "Riots. It was Humanity's last gasp. After that the deaths were just beyond imagination. So few people left. So few."

"My mom was a senior superintendent. Decorated for bravery twice." Fluke for the first time felt a tiny tremor in Ohm's hand. He squeezed it.

"An amazing and admirable woman." Fluke hoped it was comforting to Ohm. There was something about the tremor that broke his heart.

"I laid her to rest at a park near her apartment. She loved the flower gardens there. After that, I just existed. I was out scavenging when I ran across these guys. I just wanted to see other humans but, yeah. Most of them are thugs. I managed to do a few good things. They kept a poor guy captive before he managed to escape. Locked him in a closet saying he could turn on the lights and wouldn't. They weren't feeding him so I would lean on the closet door and make noise to hide I was shoving power bars under the door. It wasn't much but I couldn't take on all of them." He smiled. "I hope he made it."

"So I do the good I can but I don't know how long being here is even vaguely safe. Things are getting off balance. Too many vying for power and it can explode. If it does, it'll be violent."

"Thank you for saving me, Ohm." Fluke's whisper touched a part of Ohm's heart he'd forgotten even existed.

"I'm sorry I scared you tonight. I'd already proven I'd fight for you so laying claim to you made sense. So far they've respected the few times this has happened but go no where without me. I don't trust any of them."

Fluke nodded, "Okay, Ohm."

Flashback ended
~~~~~
Since that day, Ohm wasn't seen without Fluke. They watched out for each other and, when he could, Fluke cooked for Ohm. As a sous chef in a Michelin 4 star restaurant, he had the skills even if his ingredients weren't quite on par with what he had been used to. Ohm had savored every bite.

Over the weeks they were together, a close friendship had developed. It was a balm to both their hearts and gave them a reason to believe there was a future that could be worth while.

Now, they just had to get away from Boss and his mob.
~~~~~

After Max and Perth had gotten the propane truck up the mountain, the four men had sat down to decide what would be next.

Max was happily drinking his two cups of coffee insisting Tul was obviously reading his mind and knew he was in a serious coffee mood. Tul had a light blush on his cheeks as his husband turned an anxiety ridden moment into a thoughtful one. A quick kiss and he got drinks for everyone else.

"Okay, Perth. What do we need?" Max took another sip of his coffee.

"What is it you want to do?" Perth looked a little confused since they had discussed so many projects.

"Walkie-talkies for sure!" Saint popped in. "Can we have cool code names?"

Max started laughing. "Do what makes you happy, Brother! So walkie-talkies and what equipment do you need to set up a solar array?"

Perth rubbed his ear as he thought. "Got a notebook I can have? I can make out a list. For some of the other projects, I'm going to need to research more or mock up some scale experiments. I need a garage. Something not next to the house though." He looked vaguely guilty. "Some of my experiments have been known to explode. I blew a chunk out of the west wall in Dad's garage once." He cringed.

Max, Tul and Saint looked at each and broke out into laughter. It took a moment but Perth joined in as well.

Max was wiping tears. "Definitely NOT near the cabins." It took a bit but the laughter died down. "You make lists and when we go to town, we'll start picking up what you need. Seem reasonable?"

Perth nodded. "I'd say prioritize walkie-talkies and solar. Even a small panel can run a few LED lights."

Tul smiled. "That would be great! Reading in bed..." He sighed happily at just the idea.

"Well, we still have a few hours of daylight. Shall we get back to work?" Saint looked at the others. Nods all around. Drinks were quickly finished and they went back to the work of harvesting.

~♡~♡~♡~

Most of the players are on the board!

❤🍫🫖❤