Momma Oaks shook her head. “Absolutely not. I’ve already lost one son.”
“So we rest up a bit and gather supplies.” Edmund produced a cheerful, determined look. “Then we move on. There must be a settlement that doesn’t require military service. It’s just a matter of finding one that suits us.”
Given the distance between towns and the danger of the territory, I wasn’t sure it would be that simple. But the way Momma Oaks brightened, I could see that Edmund’s words had the desired effect. And I couldn’t bring myself to kick dirt on the fire of their hope.
So I offered, “I can check the maps. Longshot has notes about all the towns and settlements on the trade routes.”
Edmund sighed. “I wish I’d paid more attention to his stories, but the rest of us weren’t permitted to travel, even if we wanted to. So it seemed better not to indulge in curiosity.”
But I had noticed that he had a secret yen to know more about the world he hadn’t been allowed to explore because he’d asked me all kinds of questions when I went out on patrol. I wondered if Edmund had ever felt stifled by his life in Salvation. Not enough to want it to end this way, I imagined.
“Don’t worry,” Rex said. “We’ll find somewhere to settle. This is a good enough place, but maybe it’s not where we belong.”
I agreed. “If they can’t see that I’m capable of fighting, they don’t deserve my blades.”
“They don’t know you,” Momma Oaks said. “Like us, they only understand what life has shown them. And I’m willing to bet there’s nobody here like you.”
Given the smile she was wearing, that felt like a compliment.
Spence broke away from his conversation with Tully when he saw we were done discussing our options. “If you’ll come with me, I’ve got your temp quarters assignment.”
“You have houses standing empty?” Edmund asked.
That was interesting since Salvation had gotten to the point that land within the walls was at a premium. There had been talk that families would need to start doubling up in the next generation. That would never happen now, of course. Sorrow settled in my stomach like a lump of stone; so many people had died. I saw far too few familiar faces in Soldier’s Pond.
“There was an epidemic last winter. We lost more men to it than we have the Muties.”
“How is that possible?” Momma Oaks wondered.
If she hadn’t asked, I would have.
“We have stockpiles of weapons and ammo. After the army conscripted this location, Soldier’s Pond became a military base. They didn’t expect to be here long, so they went light on certain provisions.”
“Like medicine,” I guessed.
Spence nodded. “It makes things tough. There are always plenty of people who can teach you how to fight. In other respects…”
“Then it seems like you’d be happy to find craftsmen in your midst, whether any of us are willing to fight or not,” Edmund said in the sharpest tone I’d ever heard from him.
“Are you a smith?” Spence asked.
He shook his head. “Cobbler. I made the finest shoes and boots in Salvation.”
The man studied his feet, clad in obviously substandard gear. “I’ll talk to Thornton—he’s in charge of goods and supplies—see if I can get a special dispensation for you. Policies always have exceptions.”
That was intriguing, too. By rights, he should be applying to the colonel, if things ran as they should. The idea that Thornton quietly did as he wished without regard to his leader’s wishes both interested and alarmed me. But I didn’t speak of these misgivings.
Momma Oaks brightened. “That’s kind of you, sir. I’m a seamstress. Would that help?”
“Not as much, ma’am. This way, please?”
“You go on,” I said then. “If I know Tegan, she plans to tend the wounded through the night. I’ll help her, and when we’re finished, I’ll camp out in the granary like before.”
“Get some rest,” Edmund cautioned, and Momma Oaks bussed me on the forehead.
I watched the path they took in case I needed to find them later and waited in front of the hall until I saw them go into a dark house. Then I turned my steps back toward the granary. In the dark, the paths between buildings were rocky and rutted. Some of them looked like the ones in the ruins, evidence of a facility for building that we no longer possessed. The rest of the trails were only worn in the dirt, pressed flat from repeated use.
“What’re you doing here?” Tegan asked when I stepped in.
“Lending a hand.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re my friend, and I care about these people, too.”
She nodded, her dark eyes full of sorrow. Because a number of our volunteers from the first evening didn’t return, it took us most of the night to complete treatment. The young warrior, Morrow, came in somewhere past midnight, to help out. She put him to work at once, turning the men who were too heavy or too hurt for us to manage. By morning, four of our patients had died. Tegan wept after the first; when the third one stopped breathing, she was pale and dry-eyed, which worried me.
“I don’t know where their families are,” she said flatly. “Or what kind of funeral rites they preferred in Salvation.”
“They were religious,” Morrow said. “They didn’t permit visitors, or I’d know more. Not sure if their minister made it. I can ask around … and if not, our chaplain could say a few words.” He hesitated, then went on, “They can’t stay with the living. It’ll increase the risk of infection.”
Tegan snapped, “I know that. Go ahead.”
For the first time, I understood why people were always saying I was too young to fight. Because looking at my friend, I had that same thought. Someone older should’ve removed this burden from her shoulders; she shouldn’t be suffering like this. But with Doc Tuttle gone, she was the closest thing to a doctor these people had, and Tegan wouldn’t abandon them. I wouldn’t leave her dealing with this alone, either. Morrow removed the bodies with care, I’d grant him that. He didn’t treat them like dead strangers. Tegan’s sharpness softened a little, then.
“Thank you,” she murmured to him when he came back for the last time.
He only nodded.
“We need to sleep,” I said then. “The bandages have all been changed, and you’ll be no use to them if you fall asleep in the middle of treatment.”
With a reluctant nod, she agreed.
That set the tone for the next week. I had rarely been so tired in my life as I left the granary only to wash up and eat, then I came right back. It gave me the greatest satisfaction when our patients got well enough to move around, tend their own needs, and head to the mess instead of opening their mouths for broth like baby birds. I saw Stalker and Fade little. At the end of ten days, over half the casualties had healed, and fourteen died. By then, eight remained, among them Harry Carter. I had my doubts that he would make it. His wounds were severe and with his family gone, he didn’t seem to care that much about getting better.
I was exhausted and I ached all over when I stumbled out of the granary to eat. It had been weeks since I slept anywhere but on the floor, longer since I felt rested. Tegan had to feel just as bad, but she had more resolve for this kind of suffering. My own pain, I could deal with. I’d learned to tolerate it, shake it off, and keep fighting. I’d never learned how to handle anguish from people I was helping. Maybe I’d get better at it. With eight patients left, it wouldn’t be much longer. Then the burning of Salvation would only be a terrible night that lived in the memories of the survivors.
I collided with Fade as I turned toward the mess. His hands came to my shoulders in reflex to keep me from falling. Blearily I expected the same recoil, but I was too tired to mind. To my surprise, his hands lingered
