“I'm Adelaide,” she told me with bright eyes.
“How old are you?” I asked as she played with the hem of my sweatshirt she wore.
“Six,” she whispered. She was small for her age but incredibly bright. I could see that already.
“That's Cate.” I pointed towards the window. “We're both going to search and see if we can find more people buried under the rubble. Can you promise me you'll stay in the van?”
Adelaide nodded as she sipped her water. “I promise.”
“Are you hurt at all?” I asked her, knowing it should have been the first question, but other than looking dirty she seemed unharmed. Adelaide shook her head no. “Okay good.” I smiled reassuringly, giving her a hug. “We'll be back soon. You stay here.” I grabbed another bag of crackers. “If you get hungry,” I said, handing them to her, “these are for you.”
“Thanks, Olivia.” Adelaide answered.
I climbed out of the van, heading with Cate as we searched the rest of the streets through Thena, hoping Adelaide wasn't the last survivor.
CHAPTER 7
Cate and I headed back to Shadow with Adelaide in the backseat. Behind her lay two other survivors, barely breathing. Cate managed to stabilize them to get them back to town. I didn’t know how long they'd last. I hadn't even gotten their names. We'd been careful to distract Adelaide and not to let her see the badly injured bodies we transported. The last thing I wanted was to give the child nightmares.
The five-hour drive felt like an eternity. We reached Shadow at night and though I was worried about barreling into town with our headlights glaring, I also knew we had little choice.
The moment we crested into town, everyone came outside to see us, including Taron. A part of me hoped that he was Adelaide's father but I knew the chances were slim. Cate would have mentioned it, if that had been the case. We stopped in front of the medical center and Sydney came rushing outside. “You're back already?” I wasn't sure what she expected. How long were we supposed to be gone?
“We brought three survivors with us. A young girl and two patients in critical condition,” I told Sydney. I helped a sleeping Adelaide out as Chancellor Collins and Sydney worked to get the two injured into the infirmary.
“Olivia?” I heard Joshua's voice through the crowd and saw as he moved to the front, coming to wrap his arms around me. He stopped, seeing the small girl in my arms. “Is she…okay?”
“She's fine. Just asleep,” I assured him. “She got lucky.” I felt her shift in my arms. “Shhh, go back to sleep.” I patted her back. I glanced around; everyone was dispersing. Collins had gone into the infirmary to help Sydney.
“Come on, it's late. We'll take her back with us,” Joshua offered, freeing up my arms as he carried her home for me. “In the morning we'll figure out what to do.” She didn't wake up again. I nodded, knowing he was right. She deserved a family—her family—if they remained alive. I opened the front door and Joshua carried Adelaide upstairs and into the spare bedroom. I was thankful for the twin-size mattress. Though the room was rather plain of decoration, it was perfect. Joshua laid her down in bed and I tucked her in as well. Tomorrow, Adelaide would need a shower and fresh change of clothes, but at least she'd be well rested and cared for.
I closed her door, heading for our bedroom. “How was it?” Joshua asked me as I shut the door and stripped down for bed. I didn't care that Joshua watched as I changed into my pajamas. I was much too tired to care or to walk into another room. At least the lights were off and the darkness hid my curves.
“Tiring,” I breathed, finding the mattress and lying down, closing my eyes. “I searched for hours and we only found three people.”
Joshua knew as much by the van we'd brought back from Thena. “At least you found three people. Three who wouldn't have survived without you being there,” he reminded me, trying to be the optimist he always was.
I nodded weakly. “I'm not sure the two adults even have much of a chance of making it through to morning.”
Joshua stripped down to his boxers, climbing into bed beside me. “You remember the medical center: their technology is superior to anything I've ever seen.” I knew he was right. I'd seen what they did to us and what they'd done for Joshua's injured foot. “If these people have any chance, you gave it to them,” he assured me. “Besides, you saved that little girl.”
“Adelaide,” I told him. “Her name. I saved Adelaide.”
I felt his breath as he kissed my cheek. “You saved Adelaide.” He affirmed, wrapping an arm around my waist. “You did amazing, Olive.”
CHAPTER 8
Waking up early the next morning, I heard the soft patter of footsteps against the floorboards. “Olivia?” The sweetest and softest voice pulled me from slumber as I rolled onto my back, glancing at the open bedroom door.
Adelaide stood in the doorjamb watching me with bright, curious eyes. “Hey sweetie.” I smiled, sitting up in bed. I glanced at Joshua and climbed off the mattress, careful not to wake him. “How about we get you some breakfast?” I whispered, reaching out for her hand as I led her out of the bedroom.
Together we descended the stairs and walked into the kitchen. I wasn't sure what we had to eat. Most days Josh and I ate in the cafeteria with the other members of town. It wasn't that we couldn't make our own meals, it was just easier. The new home we had acquired had been stocked full of groceries but I'd hardly spent any time cooking. I wasn't entirely sure how. Besides, we were busy with training. If not for the cafeteria we'd probably miss a day or two of eating. I glanced through the fridge, found some yogurt, and grabbed a few berries, mixing it together in a cup for Adelaide to eat. I didn’t know what she liked but I figured I'd find out soon enough. Adelaide climbed onto the chair, though she was scooted out much too far. Walking over, I pushed her chair in. “I'm hungry,” Adelaide announced.
“Good, because I made you some yogurt.” Adelaide grimaced as I pushed the cup in front of her along with a spoon. She dipped the spoon in, watching the milky liquid fall back into the cup. “This looks gross. It looks like snot!” She giggled.
I glanced back towards the stairs, wondering if Joshua would have any better an idea of what to feed Adelaide. “How about we get you showered, changed, and to the cafeteria where you can pick out whatever you want to eat for breakfast?”
Adelaide nodded eagerly, hopping down off the chair. I led her back upstairs and grabbed her a t-shirt of mine before I turned on the shower, leaving her alone to clean up while I checked on Joshua. I knew I'd need to find her clothes that fit, but at least the oversized shirt would be clean.
Heading into my own bedroom, I leaned down, pressing a kiss to Joshua's forehead and feeling him stir on the bed. “Hey, sleepyhead.” I grinned, running my thumb across his cheek. “Adelaide's in the shower. I'm going to take her to breakfast when she's done. Do you want to join us?” Joshua shifted on the bed, his eyes heavy as he slowly awoke.
“There's nothing to eat here?” He asked sitting up in bed. He ran a hand through his tousled hair.
“I tried to feed her yogurt,” I laughed, finding a change of clothes in the dresser for myself. “That didn't go over too well.” I took my clothes with me into the bathroom. “If she's looking for me, let her know I'll be right out.”
I didn't hear Joshua's answer. I jumped in the shower and tried to be fast, not wanting Adelaide to wait too long. I knew we'd brought her in last night and she hadn't been awake when she met Joshua. I didn't want to upset her. Finishing my shower, I dried off and got dressed, coming out of the bathroom to see Joshua still on the bed. He was lying back down but he hadn't quite fallen asleep. “Hey,” Joshua yawned, glancing at me. “No sign of her yet.”