Don't Whistle Past the Graveyard

Ch. Eighty-Four

"Wait," Aaron said, arms crossed over his chest, green eyes narrowed against the sun. "Just, back up a minute. Half the supplies I get. What do you mean about half the people?"

As soon as Shane and I had returned to the fort, we'd rounded up the usual suspects and were now all clustered around Shane's truck. I'm sure we looked fairly suspicious, constantly glancing over our shoulders and muttering to one another. 

But the strangeness of what Shane and I had seen sort of warranted our behavior, don't you think?

I shrugged from where I was sitting cross-legged on the lowered tailgate. Vik sat next to me with her legs dangling toward the ground, Sacha on her other side.

Shane was a little behind me, crossed arms propped on the side of the truck. I turned slightly to look at him, but the only answer I got in turn was a shrug from him. My call.

So turning back to Aaron, I said, "Don't know. I mean... not really." I looked at Shane again. "We didn't exactly stick around to get welcomed to the neighborhood, you know?"

Aaron gave me a droll look. I returned it for a moment before finally relenting.

"We heard them say that if Dad had found any people, that he was supposed to send that group half."

"Half of the people?" Danny clarified, slender fingers playing with the golden cross at her neck, sliding it back and forth along the delicate chain.

I nodded, troubled by the very idea. What did they do to enforce that? 

Did they just sweep in during the middle of the night, ripping families away from one another? Did they play nice and make any new people feel comfortable and welcome before they took them away from one another? The horror of that vision danced behind my eyes, making a savage feeling stir deep in my chest. 

I kept looking at the other people in the fort, searching for any evidence of that. But everyone looked so relaxed. No one seemed angry, or like they had been separated from their loved ones. 

Later I learned why. But that wasn't until things started falling apart.

Realistically, I knew my father had already lied to the other group, and so obviously had no intention of doing any such thing. To us.

Emotionally I came to the realization that I would cut you and my father loose long before I ever allowed anyone else to be taken away from me. 

Another glance behind me revealed that Shane shared the same dark feelings as I did. 

Cassidy made a small hissing noise, like a ticked-off cat. She glanced past Aaron, looking for any eavesdroppers before she muttered, "We're not staying here." Her dark eyes flickered between me and Shane, before darting around the rest of our circle. "Right?"

"Right," Shane said on a sigh. Kyle nodded firmly, Danielle and Aaron trading looks of relief. 

There was the sound of shouting, making the four people in front of me all whirl around toward the gate as it creaked open. A familiar Jeep rolled through, and the others turned back again. All I could give them was a grim-eyed look. We hadn't really discussed what we would do with this new information.

Just what we wouldn't allow to happen, though none of that had been said with actual words. 

Regardless, it was apparently up to me if I wanted to confront our father over his little powwow with the Thunderdome rejects. I chewed at my lip, slumping into the side of the truck a little. Shane leaned forward, pressing a kiss to the side of my head.

Finally, I just sighed. Meeting each curious gaze in turn, I said, "Let's just play this close to the vest for a little while. We'll keep an eye on things to see if any of it turns weird."