Tent City

Chapter 19 - Kelsie

I had a restless sleep and was up earlier than usual. Ben was fast asleep as always, I was surprised that he was quite a heavy sleeper. I remember when we were in Tent City, he'd wake up at the smallest of sounds; such as the rustle of our tent when wind blew, the dripping of condensation down the sides of the tent, he'd even wake up if I moved in my sleep. I guess when, as a kid, you're living in an overcramped camp and living in a maxed out tent with no privacy, the stress would get to you, plus an empty stomach would make sleeping hard as well.

In my case, I learned to adapt. Mum and Dad did the best they could, considering the position we were in.

My Dad was a scientist, my mother a teacher, they shouldn't have ended up in an overcramped tent city, on the surface with two children. They should've been living in the bunkers. Where their skills could help in the running of the bunker and my dad could help with improving technology, teaching others complex skills, etc. But he wasn't rich, and I guess my dad did have a plan, but disease and malnutrition got to him first.

I quickly wiped the tears from my eyes. I realised that I hadn't really had the chance to grieve the loss of my parents. I had to be there for Ben first and foremost. I had to make sure his needs were met, I had to be strong for him...I had to be the adult, but I wasn't. In reality, I was still a teenager.

I quietly tip toed towards the bathroom. A relaxing shower was all that I needed. I spent a good amount of time standing under the warmth, the water hitting my body, then forming hundreds of little rivers along my skin. I let my mind wander back to when I was a little girl.

While we lived in a land destroyed by war that first started years ago, we found ourselves in a sanctuary. Buildings that were exactly as they were before the war began, clean water, a way to generate electricity which my dad helped improve, a steady food supply, a doctor, and we had an actual house, a house made of bricks, with doors and windows. There was a fireplace to keep us warm during the freezing winters, a stove to cook our meals, soft beds, and blankets to keep us warm. Our house even had a tv, there was no reception or actual active tv stations, of course, but there were numerous vhs tapes and DVDs, and the Tv had a DVD and VHS player. So I could watch children's shows of old.

If anything broke, my dad was called to repair, and he was good at repairing broken equipment. My dad was respected by everyone who lived in the sanctuary, and he tried his best to help improve the infrastructure the sanctuary had.

I remember what caused us to leave the sanctuary and find our way to Tent City. Raiders.

The sanctuary was protected by armed civilians, retired army officers, and an electric fence. The electricity that flowed through the fence was powerful enough to kill whomever touched it, and it kept the Raiders away for many years until they became desperate.

They worked out how to cut the electric supply to the fence, and our second defence, the armed civilians and retired officers, held them off for 3 days long enough for everybody to flee. There were heavy losses on both sides, but the Raiders were victorious, and they massacred anybody who had not left the sanctuary in time, including children.

I remember hearing the gunfire, the screams, and the cries of those who had not escaped in time, and to make it worse the Raiders found it fun, I heard them whoop and celebrate their achievement. I remember the dread, fear, helplessness, and sadness I felt as I cowered into my Dad's chest as mum cried silently beside us while holding Dad's hand.

We ended up in Tent City purely by chance, Dad was taking us to the lab/bunker he had helped create. We found the roads to be quite dangerous and joined up with a group of about 20 people.

There were women and children in the group as well as others with guns, so we knew we had a chance to survive, and surprisingly the armed people in the group were quite good with their guns and fought off numerous attempts from slavers, Raiders and bandits. They were headed to a place they called Tent City, a new place that was safe and protected.

My Dad realised that the roads were dangerous, and without that group of 20 people, we would've been kidnapped, murdered, beaten, or robbed. We were easy pickings by ourselves. So we decided to stay at Tent City, until the roads became safer or we entered a time of peace, where no bombs fell.

However, it never improved. It got worse, plus mum got pregnant with Ben, we were stuck there, until Tent City took our parents.

I was brought back to reality by Ben. He was standing at the entrance to the shower and was staring at me. I was relieved that the shower hid my tears.

"What's wrong, Lil man?" I asked, faking a cheery tone.

"Why are you sad, big sis?" He asked, a tone of concern etching his voice.

I was left speechless. How could a child as young as Ben be in tune with my emotions so well?

I wrapped myself in a towel, my hair dripping wet, knelt in front of the concerned boy, and gave him a hug, a long tight hug.

"I just miss Mum and Dad, Lil man. That's all." I whispered gently.

He hugged me back and said,

" It's okay, big sis. I'm still here." Trying his best to be strong and comforting.

"You're so brave, Lil man, and I'm glad you're still here with me." I answered and pulled him closer and tighter.

" I love you, Ben."

"Love you too, big sis." He answered.

It was like those words gave me the motivation to get on with my day.

We continued on with our morning routine.

I arrived at the gym/training room five minutes earlier than I normally would and waited patiently for Andy's arrival. Just the thought of seeing her again gave me butterflies.

Andy was surprised to see me waiting for her. Normally, we'd arrive together or only a couple of minutes ahead of each other.

She greeted me with a shy half smile, a clump of hair fell down, and almost covered her eye. I fought the urge to reach over and brush it out of the way.

We were about halfway through the lesson when Andy decided that we should practice a mix of melee and hand to hand combat. We were doing well, but Andy managed to trip me, and I landed flat on my back.

Andy was above me, I felt a rush of warmth to my cheeks, my breathing quickened, and I imagined Andy's lips brushing against mine. It was like electricity pulsated through my veins, but it was not painful, more like a tickling feeling mixed with my throbbing heart. Andy paused for a bit, like she was studying me, she was still above me and I was weak. She leaned in close and kissed me. The electricity running through my veins seemed to become like lightening, and the throbbing of my heart overtook my body. I felt the throbbing grow more intense, especially between my legs, which also felt warm. I kissed her back while I held her face tenderly. She paused like she was going to stop, I didn't want her to stop, so I pulled her closer and kissed her again. She continued to kiss me, but she suddenly stopped. I tried to pull her back in, but she shot up and ran out of the room.

I was in shock and very confused as I lay there on the floor of the gym. The throbbing had subsided, but the warmth remained, and the electricity had now quietened down to soft pulses. I lay there until I caught my breath. I sat up, I didn't understand why Andy ran away, but at least I knew she must have felt some of the same feelings I do because she kissed me first.

I tried to stay at the gym for a while to train, but I couldn't concentrate. All I could think was how much I enjoyed kissing Andy and how it made me feel. I left the gym in a daze and went to my room, sat on my bed, and stared into space. Ben wouldn't be back for a few hours.