Tent City

Chapter 25 - Kelsie

I tried to wrangle an over - excited Ben as he talked excitedly about the gift that Sandra and Collin had given him. Collin was an excellent wood carpenter and had made Ben a collection of different types of dinosaurs and painted them, exactly as the pictures in his new book. 

"Ben, you NEED to have a shower! Don't you want to look and smell nice for your party?"  I sighed in frustration, I think this was the fifth time I've asked him to take a shower. 

"No! I want to play with my toys! I hate showers." he yelled in defiance. 

I tried my best to calm the anger growing inside.

"BEN! If you don't have a shower, You will not be allowed to go to the party. That means, No nugs, chips and sauce, no cake, and no more presents!"  I raised my voice an octave louder and tried a more authoritative tone. 

I hated using this tone with Ben, I had hardly used it since we had lived in the bunker. I was not Ben's mother and I was only a teenager myself. How the hell am I supposed to get a 5 year old to do as I say? When in his eyes I hold no authority because I am only his sister not his parents. 

Ben started to cry. 

"Fuck!" I whispered under my breath, I went too far. I resisted the urge to rush over and comfort him.

"Ben, Stop your crying. GO and have a shower, NOW! or NO PARTY!!!" I was close to breaking point. 

It was in situations like this that I wished I lived with another person who could help me navigate them. I found myself wishing that Andy was here with me. There was no doubt in my mind that If Andy had asked Ben to have a shower, he would've done it with no complaints. 

Ben cried even louder, stood up from the ground and stomped towards the shower. 

"Wash yourself properly and wash your hair!" I yelled after him. My demands were answered with more crying and stomping. 

I sighed again, as I quickly picked up Ben's toys and placed them in a storage box under his bed. I sat on my bed and waited for my anger to subside. Ben had pushed me more than he usually does today. I suspected it was because of all the attention and gifts he'd received and the possibility of more to come. It was probably too overwhelming for him, this was the first good birthday in a healthy environment that he had ever had. 

So my anger turned to empathy, I had to remember that Ben was only 5 years old, and he had experienced more than any 5 year old should experience. He witnessed the death of his parents, he was taken from the only place he knew, travelled on dangerous roads, slept in the elements with a tiny veil of material to protect him from them, suffered starvation not only when we travelled but when we lived in Tent City, and he nearly died due to dehydration and starvation. 

I suspected that there were going to be long term affects on him, and I wished I could change that. However, all I could do was try my best to make the remainder of his childhood safe, where he will never experience hunger, thirst, or witness the death of any more loved ones again. Finally, I wanted to see him grow to be a good, kind-hearted adult who had empathy for others but was also strong and level - headed. That was my goal, I hoped I could achieve that.

I was shaken back to reality when I felt a small tap on my thigh, it was Ben. His hair was dripping wet, he was wrapped in a towel and in his hand he held a hand towel.

"I'm sorry Big Sis! Can you please dry my hair?" He asked sweetly, a smile on his face. This was the opposite of the Ben that had entered the shower earlier. 

"You're forgiven little man, give me the small towel and I'll dry it for you." I whispered

"Thank you." he answered as he handed me the small towel.

Ben behaved for the remainder of the day even when it was time for his party, he was nothing but a model of a well - behaved kid. I felt so much relief, as I sat at the table and watched Ben's eyes light up as he saw the decorations on the tables and the tinsel and garlands that hung from the ceiling. The cooks had really gone all out for Ben's birthday, which really made my heart warm, it restored my faith in humanity. Even in this fucked up, destroyed world, there were good people who cared about the happiness of others, especially the happiness of a child. 

As I looked around the room, my eyes were drawn to the door where Andy stood. Our eyes locked and my heart fluttered at the sight of her. She was not in uniform, her hair was freshly washed, and her clothes were clean. Even when I hugged her, the smell of sandalwood and citrus entangled me.  The smell of her cologne was comforting.  She handed me Ben's gift then we returned to the table, and spent most of it talking to each other, getting lost in each other's eyes.  The love between us pulsated like a heartbeat, there was no doubt, she was the one for me. 

However, even with the positive emotions I was feeling and the positive emotions it seemed Andy was experiencing, I couldn't help but feel that something was off. I glanced at her a couple of times, trying to find the thing that was making me worry. There was a couple of times throughout the night that it seemed Andy had tuned out mid conversation or had a sliver of a dark cloud cross her eyes, which disappeared as quickly as it appeared and her eyes sparkled with happiness once again. Something was bothering her, I intended to ask her after the party, when Ben was safe and asleep in his bed. 

It was near the end of Ben's party after we had filled ourselves with delicious chocolate cake, when an announcement permeated around the dining hall, requesting Andy's presence in sick bay. 

The party guests quickly dissipated after Andy's call. I remained behind and helped the cooks clean up, and remove the decorations. They insisted it was okay, that they'd be fine without my help, but I wanted to keep busy. It stopped me worrying about Andy, and what was happening in sick bay. Ben had passed out in a chair, his head resting on the table, he has had a big day, so I felt bad waking him, I decided to let him sleep while I did the final touches of cleaning. 

Just as it had happened earlier tonight I found my eyes wandering to the door to the dining hall. Most of the lights were turned off, only a few remained alight, but I saw a silhouette of a figure. My heart skipped a beat, I knew the figure was Andy, I rushed over to her excited. When I reached her my excitement turned to concern. Andy's face was pale, her cheeks were red, and her eyes were soaked with tears. She pulled me close to her chest, her breathing was shallow, and I could feel her heart beat as she held me tight.

"Andy! What's wrong? What's happened?" I asked, my voice tight with worry and concern for her. 

Andy answered my questions with loud sobs, and her arms were like vices around my body. Suddenly it was like her strength had depleted and her arms dropped, and so did Andy.

"Andy...Please tell me what's wrong?" I knelt beside her, tears were running down my face as  I frantically tried to wipe Andy's away and get her to focus on me, because at the present moment  it seemed her eyes were looking around the room, not focusing on anything. 

"You and Ben, should gather as many clothes and personal items as you can in the next 45 minutes, and meet me in sick bay at 11:45pm. You cannot be late." She whispered, her tone quiet and defeated.

"Why?" I asked, a lump forming in my throat. 

"We're being exiled from the bunker at midnight. I tried to stop them, but I was unsuccessful" She managed to whisper again, followed by a new set of tears.

"I'm sorry. I let you and Ben down, Kelsie. I'm so sorry." Andy said, as she pulled herself up and made her way to her room, without uttering another word.

I didn't understand what was happening or why Ben and I were being exiled, we had not done  a thing wrong, but I quickly woke Ben up and we ran to our room to pack. I didn't have enough time to explain to Ben what was happening. I barely knew myself. 

We just managed to make it to the sick bay at the time specified, Ben made it quite difficult to pack as he continuously asked questions and asked when he could go to sleep.