“Are you okay in there?” I hear Lynn call from the shower room door.
“Yeah, just fine. I’ll be out in a moment,” I answer although thoughts of inviting her in invade my mind momentarily. I hear the door closing shutting off my chances altogether.
I turn the water off and towel dry. Wiping the fog from the mirror, I see an entirely different person. Although there is still a hint of dark circles under my eyes, those have mostly vanished. I’m startled to notice the scratch on my neck has healed. I also notice my body has tightened up to a degree. I always tried to keep in shape but gravity seemed to be winning that battle as of late. However, the man looking back in the steamy glass is a previous version of me. The morning training seems to have had some affect.
I don a fresh set of fatigues and head outside. The smell of dinner wafts down from the restaurant upstairs. Lynn is ever present at my side not trusting my ability to move on my own. The kids and I meet as usual and I notice a different light in Bri’s eyes. I can’t quite put my finger on it but there is a definite sharpness to them. For that matter, there is the same change in Robert’s eyes as well.
Our meeting is the usual recap except it’s a bit longer and focuses more on the past to catch me up. Bannerman is working to engineer an attachment for the wind turbine to the water pump. The barns, stables, greenhouses, and other pens are almost complete. He notes that we are close to being ready to locate and bring in livestock in addition to starting to plant. He found a housing development area not far from our base and started clearing the land for agriculture. Frank mentions that the night runners appear to be carnivorous so the fields won’t need to be protected from them. Others in the area, meaning bandits and marauders, “well, if we want to protect against them, we’ll have to put up barriers.”
“We won’t be able to plant those fields until next year anyway,” Bannerman chimes in.
Bannerman talks about wanting to bring a water tower in next and have the turbine and water pump supply the tower. He also talks of having to treat the water in the tower but with the projects currently underway, he says this can wait until those are finished.
“Even if we do move up to the bases, we’ll still need a supply of water here for the livestock and greenhouses,” he says concluding his remarks.
Lynn tells about the first group completing phase two of their training ahead of schedule and the second group being a few weeks into their training.
“So, do we continue with our plan and move people up there? We can keep both places with this one mainly being for livestock though I see the need to keep people here as well,” I ask.
“I think we should finish the walls but I think it’d be better to wait until we have more teams trained before we think about splitting our resources,” Lynn says.
“You’re probably right. Besides, it’s going to take us some time to clear the housing areas let alone the other parts of the base we want to use,” I say. “Bannerman, you said the wall was complete around the hospital?”
“Yes, it’s been complete for a little while,” he answers.
“What about tackling this one and clearing it out before venturing to the distribution centers? I also haven’t forgotten about heading off to locate families,” I say.
“I suppose it’s as good as any,” Lynn says but I see Drescoll grimace.
“What’s the look for?” I ask.
“That place is huge. I’m not even sure we could clear that out with all of the teams we have,” he says.
“Let’s take the teams up tomorrow and have a look then,” I reply.
“Leaving two teams here for protection, right?” Lynn states.
“Of course,” I respond.
We break and head to our rooms for the night with me thinking they don’t really need me. They’ve accomplished miracles in my absence. It’s not that I feel useless. Quite the contrary, I’m happy they kept everything going. I feel a little tension leave my body realizing this place will continue to function and hopefully survive should something happen to me. It’s still my kids I worry about. They have their mom now so the question of being orphaned is less of a player, but I still have that parental side that I don’t think ever leaves.
I wake the next morning feeling even more vibrant. I head out for a training run with the others and am surprised when it ends. I do notice Bri’s eagerness during the training. Both she and Robert are right in front listening when they should and are totally engaged in the training exercises. They almost look disappointed when it ends.
“Dad?” Bri says as we are heading back in.
“Yeah, hon,” I reply.
“What team am I getting assigned to?” She asks.
This both startles and scares the shit out of me. I feel my heart leap in my chest. Well, it doesn’t exactly leap but more comes to a complete stop and then starts again after some hesitation. I guess I should have been expecting this but didn’t really. I just wanted them trained and never imagined her actually being on a team. Reasons why she can’t be put on one circulate. I think about pulling her age thing out of a hat.
“Talk to Lynn about that,” I answer.
“Oh, hell no, you are not throwing that on me, Jack,” Lynn says from behind me. There goes that brush off of responsibility. Ugh!
“Dad, I finished training and want to be on a team,” Bri says.
“I know, sweetheart, but you’re too young to be on a team,” I respond.
“Daaad?” She says.
There is that sad puppy dog look that has always worked in times past. I honestly can’t be trusted when that look comes around. That must be the same with every dad and his daughter the world around.
“Sir, she can be an honorary member of Red Team and hang with me,” Gonzalez says putting an arm around Bri.
I honestly had no idea Gonzalez was anywhere remotely close. I give her a look that would freeze fire. This is my girl and here she is offered something that will put her in danger when I just want to keep her safe. I feel the same regarding Robert but, well, this is different.
“If that’s okay with you, sir,” Gonzalez adds seeing my look.
“Pleeeease, sir,” Gonzalez continues mimicking Bri’s sad puppy dog look. My scowl vanishes and is replaced with a chuckle. I know I’ve been beaten and it wasn’t even that hard to do.
“Okay, but Gonzalez, she doesn’t go into buildings,” I say.
“Bri, you become permanently attached to her like you’re change in her pocket,” I add talking to Bri.
“Okay, Dad,” Bri replies with a grin.
Both her and Gonzalez walk off with Gonzalez’ arm still around Bri’s shoulder but not before I hear Gonzalez say, “See, just like I said, hold it close.” I shake my head having my complete lack of understanding women validated.
“Jack?” I hear Lynn, still behind me, question my decision.
“I don’t want to talk about it. It’s done,” I say and start inside once again. I feel sick to my stomach.
“You did the right thing,” Robert tells me as we head to the showers.
“I don’t know, Robert. I just don’t know,” I respond.
“Bri has done well in her training. I think she’ll surprise you. I know she has me,” he says to which I merely nod. This really, really sucks, I think as we open the locker room door.
We eat and the teams gather to head to the hospital. The sound of multiple metal doors shutting rebounds off the walls of our haven as we board Humvees. Pieces of machinery start up across our compound. In our little place in the world, sound accompanies a gathering of people bringing a little reality back into our existence. Driving out of the gate, our convoy turns north for Fort Lewis.